35 Later that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” 36 They left the crowd and took him in the boat just as he was. Other boats followed along.37 Gale-force winds arose, and waves crashed against the boat so that the boat was swamped. 38 But Jesus was in the rear of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?” 39 He got up and gave orders to the wind, and he said to the lake, “Silence! Be still!” The wind settled down and there was a great calm. Mark 4
Different life situations by virtue of their uniqueness and complexity would warrant different solutions and resolution methods. 2018 promises to be a year of new frontiers, horizons and opportunities but would have a number of challenges – as the saying goes, with new levels come, new devils, How will you deal with the curve-balls 2018 throws at you?
In the book of Mark, Jesus and his disciples were faced with a life-threatening situation. Although the rest of the crew onboard were panicky, Jesus was comfy, relaxed and resting – sleeping (on a pillow) to be precise. Eventually, they beckoned to the captain possibly after following preliminary emergency procedures. ‘Boss, this ship’s about to go down, does that mean anything to you?’ they asked. Now, here’s his response:
- He woke up: You must understand the significance of timing in relation to your purpose. There is a time for everything. Sleep is meant to be a momentary period of rest that serves to bring equilibrium to your spirit, soul and body. It’s ok to take a “little sleep, a little rest, a few more minutes, a nice little nap” here and there but be careful to not be impoverished by it. You may have heard the saying ‘too much of something is bad’. Too much food will get you obese and cause complications, too much work will result in exhaustion and lead to debilitation, too much sleep, on the other hand, will affect your effectiveness and potentially cost your life. The desire to sleep extensively or excessively implies an unwillingness to live or succeed. Jesus slept but when the time came for him to get up, he did not roll-over and snooze. One interpretation says ‘he roused himself’. Yes, there are times you won’t want to but you must. Rouse yourself. Charge-up. Kick-off. Get active. Quit being lax and delinquent. Awake from your slumber and take action. Be responsive and proactive. Wake up!
- He got up: You need to adopt a different posture to tackle certain issues. There’s a famous saying that is it insanity to continue to do the same thing with the expectation you’d have a different result. Get up, do something different! You can start by taking that problem to the Lord in prayer, the disciples did. You’d be amazed at how much the Lord cares for you. Get up!
- He rebuked the winds: You cannot afford to assume a victim’s mentality when you are a victor. Get yourself together, assert your position and put the trouble in its place. Say to the mountain be lifted from hence to thence. Speak to the wind, hush! Rebuke the devil at work in your health, home and finances. Tell it, be gone! If you do not reprimand and correct the situation this time, worse will come because it is assumed you’re alright with it. It’s okay to have words, bawl out and take the enemy to the task. This singular action has astonishing results, give it a try. Rebuke!
Peace is not the absence of storms or winds but one’s ability to ride the tide in spite of – now that’s mastery. Great calm is an achievable state and standard. It is possible to live liberated, luxuriously, whole with nothing missing or broken. Peradventure this is not your present reality, you can enforce it!
No flood should be able to drown you nor should any fire have the ability to consume you. Why? Because God said so! What are you going to do with this information? I encourage you to speak it over your life. Decree that you may be justified.
Big doors are swung by little hinges. You only need to make a little step change towards your great expectations. You can start by waking from your slumber.