‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

What does it mean to be a Water Walker? It means fully rely on God, to lean not on our own understanding but to trust God with all of our heart. 

I am reminded of the F.R.O.G. acronym: 

Fully

Rely

On

God

Do you like frogs? Do you have a fear of frogs? How about the little green tree frogs? The ones that jump at you, catching you off guard, potentially causing you to either hurt yourself, say a few choice words or both. In reality, the frog is just trying to get out of your way. 

Are you allowing your own understanding to get in the way of relying on God? What we see is a slimy frog. What God sees is a valuable creature. To rely fully on God, we must ask His spirit to lead us. Let’s use the lyrics from the song, “Oceans” by Hillsong United to close us in prayer.

Holy Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger. In Your presence, my Savior, Amen.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭35‬-‭41‬ ‭MSG — Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?” Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?” They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!‬‬

The Message version of this passage is titled “The Wind Ran Out of Breath.” It all happened because Jesus came to His disciples’ rescue. They were dependent on Jesus to save them and calm their fears. According to Merriam-Webster, dependent means to rely on another for support. This definition reminds me of church. Recently at our church, we had Youth Sunday. Our youth shared what the church means to them. They used words like family, faith, strength, happiness, community, refuge, peace, support, love, fellowship, prayer, altar, and reverence. What does church mean to you? 

Church for me is a time to come to God’s house, be reminded of my awe of God and worship Him with my family and friends. Mark tells us the disciples were in absolute awe of Jesus. They still managed to let worry overtake them. Interestingly, to be in awe can be a reverence mixed with fear and wonder. Take a moment to think about your awe of God.

Let’s pray. Dear God, I am in awe of You. I come to You today with reverence. I lay down my fears to You! I pray for my fellow church members, and all those who do not know You. Use me today to show them Your wonder. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭35‬-‭41‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭35‬-‭41‬ ‭MSG — Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?” Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?” They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!‬‬”