Daily Gospel Reflection for January 27, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 4:35-41

In the Gospel reading today, the disciples are caught up in a terrifying storm on the sea. They fear for their lives, as the waves crash around them, the wind howls, and water pours into their small craft. At any moment, they could drown.

Jesus is also in the boat with them, yet He somehow remains asleep through all the tumult. In desperation, the disciples wake Him and ask,

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Mark 4:38

Jesus’s answer is rather odd. Instead of reassuring them of His love and concern, He responds by rebuking the wind and saying to the sea,

“Quiet! Be still!” Mark 4:39

When everything is calm and peaceful again, Jesus asks his disciples,

“Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

We can all relate to the disciples in that small boat, out on the wide, angry sea. When we, the modern-day disciples of the Lord, are traveling through storms in our own lives, particularly vicious, life-threatening storms, God can often seem asleep - absent, distant, uninterested. It’s very human of us to say “God, don’t you care about my suffering? Where are you?” Like the disciples, our inability to change or fix an overwhelming situation can cause us to ask the very same question.

Jesus’ response in the Gospel reminds us that He knows of our situation before we even cry out to Him. Nevertheless, He still waits for us to come to Him in faith. Our problems may not simply vanish, like the storm at sea, but our faith tells us that Jesus can do things we cannot. If we trust that God loves us and hand our problems over to Him, we can be confident that our small boat will somehow survive the storm and arrive safely back at the shore.

Ponder:

How can you turn the storm in your life over to God?

Pray:

God, please help me to remember and believe You are with me in all my trials. Guide me through this storm and bring me safely home.

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Jesus knows of our situation before we even cry out to Him. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2024 Sarah Pedrozo