Blue Skies Up Ahead

Good morning!

Spring’s around the corner!  Spring’s around the corner!  I can hear the tune over and over in my head.  It makes me think of blue skies and sunshine!  But what about the circumstances that surround us when they don’t feel like blue skies and sunshine?  When they feel more like dark skies and bitter cold wind blowing against us?

I was reading in Mark chapter 6 where Jesus was performing the miracle of feeding the five thousand men (plus women and children).  We had gone over this miracle in church last week.  But as I continued reading the scripture goes immediately into when Jesus walks on the water, out to the boat full of the disciples that he had sent out earlier that evening without him.

But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.  They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.  Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.  Mark 6:49-51

Here we see the disciples terrified of the unknown; dark skies all around and the wind blowing against them.  Sometimes life throws storms at us too.  Storms that terrify us, bind us all up on the inside, and threaten every security we hold on to.  It is easy to take our eyes off Jesus and stare directly into the storm and think “How am I going to get through this?”

But Jesus… He encourages the disciples and he encourages us – “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”  He immediately spoke to the disciples to calm their fear, give them assurance and a sense of security.  He also wants to replace our fear with peace, fill our souls with comfort, and assure us that with Him as our security this storm too will pass.

No matter what storms we face, Jesus is right there with us.  And when we hunker in with Him, blue skies are up ahead.

Blessings,

The Johnstons