RTW October 9
He Sees Me
He saw they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves.
Mark 6:48a
My Takeaways
Something Old
Genesis 16
El Roi, the God who sees. Hagar gave God this name after He provided for her and Ishmael when they were sent away from there home.
Personally, this is one of my favorites of the Lord’s names. Like the disciples we can find ourselves in serious trouble. We work hard, struggling not to be over taken by the trouble. Our efforts seem futile. During times of our serious trouble, our great comfort is “He sees.” He not only sees, but He comes. He sees, comes, and speaks.
- “Don’t be afraid.”
- “Take courage!”
- “I am here!”
Do you find yourself in serious trouble today? A situation that seems critical and is causing apprehension? He sees. He will come. He will speak. He will calm your storm. Today, I need to hear His words.
Something New
He sees me in my storm.
Something to Do
Praise Him in the storm.
I needed to hear this today as my family is in a storm that is only beginning. I have two close family members who have recently been diagnosed with aggressive brain tumors. One thing that stood out to me was that Jesus could have calmed the storm from the shore instead of going out into the water with the disciples. Instead, he entered the storm with them and THEN scripture says that the wind subsided (Matthew 14:32). Jesus cared enough to enter the storm with them. He didn’t calm the storm from afar and then retreat back to the hillside. He also offered words of comfort to the disciples so they would no longer be scared. Thank you for the reminder that God sees, comes, AND speaks in the midst of our struggles!
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Great insight!
Irhymer, your thoughts and words are lovely. Such a good reminder. And Wendy, thank you for a beautiful lesson. I again find myself in a storm and today’s lesson was exactly what I needed to hear.
Oh my goodness! What a great lesson! The first thing I noticed on today’s lesson page was the posting of Casting Crowns, “Praise You in this Storm.” This is significant to me because my pastor preached today from Mark about the “storms of life”, our praise teams special music was….wait for it…..”Praise You in this Storm.” Coincidence? I think not. Our pastor concluded his sermon with our pianist playing and singing “Be Still My Soul.” A perfect bookend. If anyone in our class is not familiar with “Be Still My Soul” I encourage you to look up the lyrics. So powerful. Thanks Wendy!
I was convicted by jesus’ compassion on the people when they followed him. He wasn’t irritated or angry. He had gone away to grieve over john and catch up with the disciples. He could have justified sending the people away but he didn’t he ministered to them. I want to have that compassion over the interruptions in my life. I can easy get irritated and not allow my schedule to be altered but I may need to have compassion and go with the flow.
I also was challenged by the story of Peter and Jesus on water. Peter got in trouble when he fixed his eyes on the storm and not on Jesus. I too can get in trouble and start to drown in the storms of life when I fix my eyes in the circumstances around me and not on Jesus.
“Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here.” These are Jesus’ words to his disciples AND to me. He sees me in my storm! I am so grateful.
All of us face “storms.” Sometimes they are just brief thunderstorms that pass quickly. But occasionally we face a “hurricane” or a “tornado,” the kind of storm that leaves trauma and destruction in its wake; the kind of storm that knocks the breath out of you and it’s so hard to get back up. It’s reassuring to know that God is right there with us, even in the worst of storms…even the kind of “storms” that take months and years to recover. I am holding Jesus’ words in my heart, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!” Reassurance straight from Jesus❤️ Thank you God for entering my storm.