๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ -๐จ๐ฃ
โข If you could master any skill, what would it be and why?ย
โข How do you usually react to a command from your parents or spouse? Why?ย
โข Who do you usually run to for help? What made you choose this person?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ถ๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ!โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ.ย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ฎ-๐ฎ๐ฐ
All of usโeven those who follow Christโencounter seemingly impossible storms and trials. He warned us against this, but also gave us an assurance: He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Yet, we still often find ourselves anxious and afraid when troubles come, asking: ๐๐ฉ๐บ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ? ๐๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ถ๐ญ๐ต? ๐๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ? ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด? In the midst of the disciplesโ troubles and anxiety in this story, we see that Jesus is powerful and in control.
๐ญ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ถ๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ. . . ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ฎ-๐ฎ๐ฏ
Jesus had given a word, and the disciples obeyed Him. They seemed ready to obey Him, wherever He would lead, whether it was a crowd of people or an unexpected place. After all, they knew that this is the best position to see Godโs miraculous power at work. How have you learned to obey Jesus at His word?ย
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.ย
. . . ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ!โ . . .ย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ฏ-๐ฎ๐ฐ
Because they had obeyed Jesus, they probably did not think they would need a miracle. The seasoned fishermen were caught by surprise by the storm. They had obeyed and yet were looking for a way to survive. Even today, torrents come in our obedience. Following Christ does not guarantee a storm-free life. Moreover, God may lead us to go through storms so that we may learn to depend on Him. Thatโs why we need to anchor ourselves on Jesus and His word. When Godโs word gets challenged in your life, how have you learned to respond?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐.
. . . ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ?โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ?โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ฐ-๐ฎ๐ฑ
The disciplesโ reaction to the storm was valid. They were in danger, after all. But Jesus was with them. He had done various miracles before their eyes, even proving His power over nature (Luke 5:5โ6). In their culture, they knew that God controls the winds and waves. This storm then posed no challenge to Jesus, but the disciples, in their panic, may have forgotten about that. Jesus calmed the storm and waves simply by His word, and then asked them, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ?โ Seeing this miracle, they were left in awe and safely arrived on the other side of the lake (Luke 8:26). Recall a time when God miraculously carried you through a difficult situation.ย
Jesus showed the disciples that in Him, they could have peace even in the midst of storms. The same is true for us. When we encounter challenges and seemingly impossible situations, we can have peace in Christ. He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Despite the looming troubles, let us look to Jesus. He is our peace.ย
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Are there promises or commands from God that are being challenged in your life? How do you think you should respond to Him, in light of what you learned today?ย
โข Though storms are inevitable in life, God is in control over nature and all of creation. Who can you encourage with this truth? Declare Godโs peace and power in this personโs life.ย ย
โข What are some practical things you can do to remind yourself and others about Godโs peace amidst anxiety and uncertainty? How can you encourage todayโs truth to someone this week?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Pray John 16:33 over your life every day this week. Thank God for He Himself is our peace and He is continually at work in our lives.
โข Surrender your anxieties and worries to God. Pray that you will always be reminded of His word and of the hope we have in Him, because nothing is beyond His power and control.
โข Ask God to strengthen your faith in His word as you face trials. Pray that your life will be a testament to Godโs love and power to the people around you, especially those who are in need of a miracle.