Daily Devotion - Mark 4:36-41

And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? -Mark 4:36-41

Now, I couldn't just leave you with just putting one foot in front of the other.  I think that God wants us to do more than just always struggle along.  Sometimes it is a struggle, but praise God, He always gets us through it.  Part of the struggle is getting rid of the chaff, going through the refiner's fire, coming out the other side as pure silver.  Each time you struggle, it's an opportunity to get rid of the extra baggage that weighs you down - like throwing baggage overboard when the ship is sinking.  But God doesn't want us to stay in the struggle mode.  We should be able to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit no matter what goes on in our lives.  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:11-13)  I know how easy it is to get overly dramatic about anything that may be upsetting your applecart at the moment.  No one truly likes change, and no one certainly likes to have to deal with situations where they're not in control.  In Mark, the disciples are with Jesus and they're freaking out because He's sleeping while they're having a pretty tough time.  So they wake Him up because they think they're dying.  It's easy to get into that mode of "don't you care that I'm perishing, God?"  So, Jesus rebukes them gently by asking them where their faith is.  Where is your faith?  God wants us to have a fullness of joy, peace with Him. That peace comes from knowing that God is in control, that He has unfailing power, and knowing that He never fails. Contentment is not an escape from the storm, it's an abiding peace in the midst of the storm.