In our last study, we were looking at the unhurried, unworried nature of Jesus.
Let’s pick up the story again in Mark 4. The disciples were trying to cross the Sea of Galilee when a sudden storm arose that turned deadly. Though Jesus was also IN THE BOAT with them—in that moment—they were terrified for their lives.
In their blind panic, it wasn’t enough that they were afraid—the disciples tried to pull Jesus into their fear. They wanted Him to be as frantic as they were. “MASTER! Don’t You CARE that we are going to DIE?” As if to add, “YOU, too!!”
Jesus wasn’t having any of it. He knew it was not His time, and NO disciples were going to die that day. With characteristic composure, “He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39)
BAM. It was over.
And then Jesus turned and said to the disciples, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” In other words, You have such unrestrained faith in the storm and the wind and the waves! Why don’t you have the same faith in ME?
Jesus proved in that moment that He not only had complete authority over the elements, but also over the outcome. His authority was above it. Outside it—and there was nothing that would happen in that moment of time that He did not authorize.
Jesus still asks us, Why are you so fearful? You are worried and upset about many things. Why don’t you give them ALL to me—your fears, your hurries, your worries … your times? Don’t you know that I alone have authority over the outcome?
LORD, You want me to hand all my troubles and frantic schedule over to You, and let You worry about them?
No—because God doesn’t hurry or worry. He wants us to think like Him, not the other way around. (Philippians 2:5)
“Hurry is the death of prayer and only impedes and spoils our work. It never advances it.” (Walter Adams)
Worry is a waste of time for us and a waste of trust in God. Why don’t we simply say like David, “I trust in thee, O LORD: Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand.” (Psalm 31:14-15 KJV)
What would happen if we truly placed our times in the hands of the LORD? If we trusted God’s timing enough to stop rushing ahead, looking back, or worrying about what comes next?
What if the unhurried, unworried perspective of Jesus became the lens through which we viewed our “NOW?”
- We would hurry and worry less. “The Lord manages our lives with the precision of a watchmaker, and His children are never racing against time or running out of time.” (Robert J Morgan, The Mediterranean Sea Rules)
- We would procrastinate less. We’d simply do NOW what needs to be done—what is the right thing to do. “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV)
- We would have less regret—and be in less debt to our past and its mistakes. A continually repentant heart nips sin’s lingering guilt and dread in the bud. “Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJ)
- We would compete less—striving less to beat others to hear first, to know first, to BE first. If there’s no timeline to worry about, there’s no need to be first.
- We would multitask less—being more singleminded in the present moment. Jesus was busy, but He was never rushed, rude, distracted, confused, or overwhelmed. His full attention—His full love—was always laser-focused on one task, one person, at a time.
- We would be more available to Him. We’d say, “Now I’m giving back to You all the tools You gave to me—my hands, my ears, my voice, my eyes (my times)—so You can use them as You please.” (Thank you, Milton Brunson.)
- We would “be anxious for nothing.” (Philippians 4:6 NKJ) How? By habitually “casting all (our) anxieties on him, because he cares for (us).” (1 Peter 5:7)
- We would obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Quickly. To speak, or act, or pray NOW—in this moment—instead of someday … sometime … tomorrow, maybe.
- We would accept God’s ultimate plan for our lives. If we are continually caught up in the vortex of anxious fretting, trying to do it all on our own, we are not embracing God’s best for us. His perfect plan is for perfect peace—NOT for a rushed, frantic, fearful, hurried and worried life.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed (sustained) on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3 KJV)
“To restate: love, joy, and peace are at the heart of all Jesus is trying to grow in the soil of your life. And all three are incompatible with hurry.” (John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry)
“For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel … in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15 ESV)
(Part 2 of 2)
