“For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not [the miracle] of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” (Mr 6:50-52 AV)
It struck me this morning how much fear is mentioned in chapters 4-6 of the book of Mark. When the Spirit shows you a pattern, it is probably a good thing to take notice. What struck me even more is the correlation between fear and the hardness of the heart, as mentioned above. The twelve in the ship did not meditate on the miracle of the wilderness banquet. When Jesus appeared in the middle of a storm, they were afraid. They continued their bewilderment when the LORD calmed the seas. All because their heart was hardened. When we speak of a hard heart, it is often with an understanding of belligerent rebellion. We think a hard heart is one that absolutely refused to submit. This is certainly true. But a hard heart can also be a heart that does not muse on what God did, does, or is doing. A hardened heart could be a heart so overwhelmed by current events, it refuses to trust in what it has already experienced. This was certainly the case of the twelve in the midst of a storm. Lack of consideration is the definition of a hardened heart. At least it is so in the above use of the term. One does not need to reject. All one needs to do is fail to consider.
We are apt to learn from our experiences. However, based on our personalities, we may learn different truths. For example, one can go down the road and get stuck in serious weather. Along comes emergency providers and rescues you. You are safe and on your way. We may look at that and decide we will never travel in questionable weather again. Or we may ignore the obvious danger signs, throw caution to the wind, and never consider the risk. The third person can look at the event, know it was unforeseeable, and decide the next time to take every precaution but travel, anyway. That third person has learned the principle of faith. The first never sees deliverance. All they see is the trauma caused be the event. They never see that things turned out just fine, regardless of how much stress was caused. They failed to see a sovereign God who does miracles regularly and no matter the situation, as long as he or she is in the will of God, all things will turn out well. The second does not even consider God’s hand in the deliverance. They never saw the need to be delivered. They simply saw adversity and deliverance and one event. God in not in their thoughts. The third is the one who sees things correctly. He or she learns that God can deliver. If He can deliver in small things, He can deliver in big things. If He has delivered in the past, He will do so in the present. Fear comes because we do not consider what God has already done. By extrapolating the faithfulness of God from the past to the present, we conquer fear.
The above struggle is real for all of us. No one has so much faith that anxiety and fear is completely absent. If they believe so, then they are in that first group. Depending on the severity of the situation, the second person is first example is usually where most of us reside. The stress and anxiety of the moment are stronger emotions than the memories of the past. We cannot see deliverance because we are looking at the immediate. We fail to see the LORD walking on the water because we have soon forgotten how he fed the multitude just a few hours ago. We see the present as insurmountable because the heart is hardened against past deliverance. We fail to consider God’s love and care in our recent past and can only see what we are facing today. If we fear, it is our fault. If we are filled with anxiety, the blame is placed at our feet. Jesus was right to rebuke His disciples. He would be right to rebuke us as well.
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