Wake Jesus Up In Your Troubles

A mother of two was in tears. She believes her husband is a problem gambler who also sleeps around with other women.  She is left alone to care for her chronically sick child.  She is also afraid of being made redundant from her job.  In spite of her faith practices, prayer and Church attendance, she was experiencing a sinking feeling.  The world around her was so turbulent that she was in the same boat as the disciples in the Gospel (Mark 4:37-38), who cried out “Master, do you not care? We are going down”.  This woman is wondering if Jesus her Saviour is sleeping without concern for her.

Mark wrote this Gospel narrative at a time when Nero was persecuting Christians, even burning them publicly on stakes.  The endangered Christians of Mark’s time saw the world around them like a turbulent sea in which they could sink. Boats in the Bible are a symbol of the Church.  Though the Church was rocking with persecution, their unwavering faith in Jesus eventually calmed the sea of trouble around them.  Nero was gone.  Roman persecution subsided.  The Church emerged as a safe boat to be in, to the shore of God’s Kingdom.  The prophetic narrative of Mark was vindicated in history.  In spite of the turbulent world around you, Jesus our Lord and Saviour will not abandon you to perish in your troubles.

In the overwhelming troubles of your life, do you despair like people of no hope?  Is your faith strong enough to turn to Jesus in your troubles and wake him up to help you through the troubles around you?