FORGET THE LIST AND FOLLOW JESUS

January 25, 2016

FORGET THE LIST AND FOLLOW JESUS

Matthew 8:18–27

Madison O'Connor

Central Truth

Jesus said, "Follow me." Are you ready to put your plans aside to follow Him? It may not always look the way we picture it, but Scripture reminds us that we can trust in God whom even the winds and sea obey.

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26a)

The Cost of Following Jesus

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

I am the queen of "to do" lists. There always seems to be a task to be accomplished and a plan to be made.

If you look at verse 21, you’ll see that after Jesus gave orders where to go, a disciple responded, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus simply responded, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

After reading this, I experienced a range of emotions. My first thought was, "But what about the list?!" Then quickly, I moved to thinking, "Really? Why am I so worried about the disciple not accomplishing his earthly to-do list," shortly followed by me throwing my hands in the air and shouting to the disciple as if he were sitting in my living room, "FOLLOW JESUS! There is nothing better!"

In verse 23, the disciples seem ready for anything. Oh, but wait, in an unexpected turn of events, the boat carrying the disciples sails into the heart of a nasty storm. When the disciples wake Jesus in a panic, He replies, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

I don’t know about you, but at this point I was thinking, “Did Jesus not hear them?” The boat was being SWAMPED by the waves, and they said they were perishing!" And then, just like that, I realized I was back to where I started after reading verse 22, doubting God’s plan.

In all honesty, admitting that to myself, and even more so typing it here, is not exactly my favorite thing to do. Thankfully, I am surrounded by a community of believers who daily encourage me to grow deeper in my relationship with a loving, protective, and consistent God despite my desire to control and hold on tight to my plan.

After reading verse 27, I was reminded that the God of whom the disciples stood in awe is the same God with whom I have a personal relationship. He can be trusted with all aspects of my life, even my lists upon lists.

1. Is there something on your to-do list that you feel is of higher importance this week than spending time with Jesus? If so, what action steps do you need to take to prioritize your time?

2. Have you experienced a time when God asked you to take a leap of faith? How did you feel trusting in God’s plan over your own? What did He teach you during this season?

3. What fears do you have that may be preventing you from fully trusting that God will calm the storms in your life?

4. Are there any doubts you have regarding the trustworthiness of God? If so, have you brought these questions to your community group? We also invite you to join us for Great Questions at Watermark, a safe place to for those who have not yet trusted in Christ to explore their questions or doubts about the Christian faith, God, and the Bible.