Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in. [Mark 6.47-52]
Fear is the greatest indicator of faithlessness in our lives.
Yes, I said it.
And, yes, I struggle with it too.
The thing is, the disciples greatly struggled with it themselves - the same disciples who had already seen many demonstrations of God's power through Jesus! The significance of this fact is that seeing miracles does not build faith! Many of us think that seeing a miracle would be all it takes for us to believe God and walk in total faith from that point forward, but that just isn't so. The disciples had just witnessed one of the most significant miracles of the Bible (recorded in all four Gospels) and yet, in the very next circumstance they found themselves, they were afraid.
The problem seems to be associated with the last sentence in the scripture reference above: "Their hearts were too hard to take it in."
We've often heard discussions on "seeing is believing." However, Jesus pretty much refuted that whole idea in this event. Again, the disciples were no doubt, still full from the miracle of the loaves and fish when the were afraid on the lake. The point is, seeing is NOT believing regardless what we think.
Had the disciples grown in "faithfulness," as opposed to "seeing," they would have been more apt to believe. Here is a rarely considered fact of this scenario on the lake: why were the disciples on the lake in the first place? Jesus told them to go while he went and prayed. Why would Jesus tell them to go across the lake instead of telling them to join Him in prayer? Was it so they would see their own faithlessness (i.e. hard-heartedness) immediately after an event that should have solidified their faith if indeed "seeing is believing"?
And, for the record, the ones in trouble were not praying and the One Who rescued them was. I'm just saying.
There is another lesson here if we will see it. For those of us who feel we have witnessed a great work of God in the earth, is it not all too easy, after that event, to want to relax? Maybe it's just natural to want and need to relax. But what we see in this story is that sometimes the greatest storms follow the greatest victories. And that is why, like Jesus demonstrated, we need to be faithful in prayer. Prayer is the only place our hearts can truly be softened.
The last sentence above is worth singling out: Prayer is the only place where our hearts can truly be softened. Prayer is the only place that God's Word can begin to make a difference in our lives (i.e. increase our faith). All the study in the world does not activate faith - prayer activates faith.
The disciples obeyed Jesus by crossing the lake. But we have no indication (as we did with Jesus) that they were praying. So, when trouble came, they were afraid.
Father, I have been blessed to witness many miraculous things in my life. However, I have come away from those blessings and, instead of praying, I have relaxed and found myself immediately in a fearful situation. Please forgive me for prayerlessness in my life and the consequent hard-heartedness it brings.
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