Feb: Thoughts from Huw

Storm on the lake Mark 4 v35-41

Dear Friends

We are in worrying times where our faith in God is being tested. However, the roll out of the Coronavirus vaccine is giving us hope and reassurance that in the future we will return to some sort of normality.

It’s easy to delude ourselves into thinking we have a strong faith when everything in our world is calm and smooth. It’s only when the storm strikes that we discover what kind of faith we have, or if we have any faith at all. Coronavirus has certainly done that! But faith here means not so much belief in God as trust in God. We love to sing the hymn ‘Trust and Obey’.

Some people think that if God was with them, and if he really cared about them, then no storm would ever hit them. Life would be all plain sailing. So, when a storm does come, they immediately think that God has abandoned them. But the story from Mark’s Gospel shows that this is not so. The storm still hit the disciples even though Jesus was present with them in the boat.

Faith assures us that God is with us in the midst of the storm. It is that conviction that we are not alone, which enables us to get through the storm. When the storm hit the apostles, what happened? Their faith failed them and they were overcome with fear. We can deduce this from what Jesus said to them. ‘Why are you frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’. However, in their fear they cried out, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!'

The cry of the apostles, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ offers comfort to us. It is a cry made by many, and probably by ourselves, when danger strikes and God seems not to care or even to be found. At such times we discover how little our faith really is. But our faith doesn’t have to be perfect. Even a little faith can get us through.

In their grave need, the apostles turned to Jesus for help. Pretty well everybody turns to God in times of extreme danger. But there are some who turn to God only then.

There is a story about a sea captain who in his retirement skippered a boat taking day trippers to the Shetland Islands. On one trip the boat was full of young people. These youngsters laughed at the old captain when they saw him saying a prayer before setting out, because the day was fine and the sea calm.

However, they weren’t long out at sea when a storm suddenly blew up, and the boat began to pitch violently. The terrified passengers came to the captain and asked him to join them in prayer. But he replied, ‘I say my prayers when it’s calm. When it’s rough, I attend my ship.’

Perhaps there is a lesson for us. If we cannot or will not seek God in the quiet moments of our lives, we are not likely to find God when trouble strikes. We are more likely to panic. But if we try to learn to seek God and trust him in the quiet times, then most certainly we will find God when the going gets tough.

At Wesley, I continue to hold you in my thoughts and prayers. I’m so pleased that some of you have had the vaccination. If you need anybody to talk to don’t hesitate to contact me by phone on 0191 469 2788

With good wishes

Huw

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