The Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Oswald Chambers Shade of His Hand, 1223 L

I’m finding this quote to be very true in my life personally. Over the last day , I’ve been looking at the passage in Mark 4:35-41. Going through the loss of my mom has opened my eyes in new and different ways to seeing things in scripture and God’s will and plans that I would not be able to see any other way. I know I’ve seen and read and even heard sermons on this passage myself, but I’m learning things I hadn’t known before, or at least not recalled until now. I guess that’s one of the amazing things about God’s word: there’s always something new to see or discover about God, myself or others.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to begin the discussion here: what is something that you see from this passage that is new to you? Maybe even an old truth that God is bringing to your attention today? Here is the passage:

³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” ⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:36-41 NKJV

One of the first things that struck me was that Jesus, along with the disciples had to leave the multitudes. This is quite different than our culture isn’t it? People seem to always want to be in front of the multitudes and have the spotlight on themselves. It’s interesting to me that Jesus wasn’t trying to be in the spotlight. He was always willing to be with the crowds but often sought time away to be with the disciples and especially with His Father.

Last month in one of our Family Groups (Small Group Bible Studies), we were discussing the idea and concept of Sabbath. Even though this is something that God has commanded for His people to honor, its practice has been lost on our culture. Considering Sabbath, I don’t always practice “Sabbath” but I do try to find periods of downtime and getaways each year. Some years are a little more difficult and especially when it comes to juggling church responsibilities, family and investing in people.

Recently, with the loss of my mom, taking some downtime and a period of time to reflect, process and mourn has been not only necessary but extremely beneficial. I’m still processing many things as I’m sure you can imagine. But in reading this passage, I was once again reminded that even Jesus needed time away from the multitudes and it was ok for Him to get some sleep and rest.

What’s another interesting thing to me from this passage is that Jesus was so tired that He slept right into and during a storm. Some of you reading this could possibly do the same! A freight train coming through your house wouldn’t even wake you! When we stop and consider this for a moment though, I can see two very important things:

1. Jesus was human. He was tired from teaching and being with the multitudes. He needed sleep.
2. Jesus was wrongly accused of “not caring”.

Let’s consider these briefly. Jesus was human. It’s easy to forget that Jesus was human. He had a body just like ours. His body needed rest, food and attention just like ours. Seeing this side of Jesus is encouraging when we are experiencing difficult challenges or situations in our lives. Understanding that Jesus was sleeping here gives me comfort in knowing that if I need a little extra sleep or rest from the crowds, it’s not a bad thing. I certainly don’t need to abuse taking time away but having a regular “Sabbath” and scheduling downtime is important to sustaining effective ministry and longevity in ministry. I am most grateful for my church family and leadership for assisting me during my time of loss. They have jumped right in and stepped up to cover everything the church needs during my time away. That has been a true blessing for me as I go through this period of mourning and loss.

The other thing I’ll highlight here is that Jesus was wrongly accused of “not caring”. There are going to be times when I am and you are going to be misunderstood. Jesus was simply sleeping because He physically needed rest, not because He didn’t care. The disciples however, misread Him. People are going to misread us. It’s going to happen, no matter how hard we may try.

Jesus’ sleeping on the boat wasn’t because He didn’t care but the disciples jump to that conclusion. I’m learning that in leadership, I’m not always going to understood. Everyone may not always understand what I’m doing or dealing with and that has to be ok. I can’t answer everyone. I can’t meet everyone’s needs. I can’t be on call 24-7. This is why the Church is important. Not everyone is meant to do it all. Only God is available 24-7 and He’s really good at what He does!

Let me close by giving a couple of challenges:

1. Don’t feel guilty when you need to take time off. In fact, honor the Sabbath and let God give you rest. Set a time, rhythm for downtime. Put it on your calendar.
2. Don’t worry about being misunderstood. (And I just want to say that no one has made me feel this way in my recent loss.) It happened to Jesus a lot and it’s going to happen to you. Do what you need to do to stay connected to God; this is the best way to serve others.

What are your thoughts? Share some of your insights and comments. I’d love to continue the conversation.