Matthew 8:23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
The above Scripture was first spoken to me personally back in 1999 right after I cancelled the Bible study I was teaching because I found I wasn’t living what I was teaching concerning faith in prayer. The Christ within revealed to me way back then that my problem was fear, that fear and faith cannot co-exist. I can see my spiritual journey since that time as the journey out of fear into faith. I would have said that it was a journey out of law into grace, but it is one and the same. It is the law which brings on the fear (as we see in the account of Adam in the Garden of Eden); and it is our acceptance of the grace of God (righteousness without the law) that enables us to walk in faith.
This Scripture was again brought to my remembrance this morning as I found myself churning inside about people’s possible reactions to what I am writing in these contemplations. Jesus Himself was severely criticized and even crucified for what He said and did in obedience to the Christ (or Father) inside. Both Paul and Peter also went to their death for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus told us:
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
When Peter asked Jesus what would be their reward for “forsaking all” to follow Him, He responded:
Mark 10:29 . . . Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Yes, I do understand that I will be persecuted on some level if I “leave all” to follow the leading of the Spirit. But it’s the word “falsely” that causes me to fear. I have known many people who believed they were being persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, but whom I felt were just obnoxious people, not even attempting to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). People commit all sorts of atrocities and are cruel beyond measure, saying that God told them to. For me it is a fine line between refusing to obey God because I am a people pleaser and becoming an offensive person, thinking that I am being obedient to the Spirit. I hear Jesus’ words ringing in my ears:
Luke 17:1 . . . It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
And I become paralyzed. I have already written about this in the contemplation Godly Fear, where I saw this fear to be a good thing, that which would always restrain my ego. But I can also see it as an excuse for not moving ahead when called upon to do so.
I see from the account of Jesus asleep on the boat that I must come into a place of faith. The “storm” is not on the lake; it is inside me. I’ve already been assured that God is not going to punish me if I get it wrong (see Understanding). Now I must receive the peace that enables me to “sleep” through the storm and the dominion that enables me to quieten the storm inside. There is but one way to do that. It is to respond to Jesus’ invitation:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
—and to hear the ascended Christ say to me personally:
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Now I would like you to read Curse of the Law.