Fair-Weather Friends

Mark 4:36-37 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.

I'm sure you've heard the idiom about fair-weather friends.  It began around the 1800's and it refers to a friend who can be relied upon when the weather is good, but abandons you when the weather turns stormy.

Even as you read the definition of this idiom a few people probably come to mind.  Who can blame them?  I mean, who would voluntarily stick around during a storm?

JESUS.

Not only does He stick around, He enters in.

The first storm I think about in Scripture is in Daniel 3:25  The storm of persecution that Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego faced for refusing to worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  They were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace, and yet as men peered in to witness their demise, instead of three men bound, they saw four men, loosed and walking around!  Jesus was with them!

God's Word shows us many accounts of storms:

    The storms of persecution, like the one above.

    The storms of abandonment by society-John 4:4

    The storms of living with blindness, deafness, poor health.

There is no end to storms we will face in this life, but I love the account in Mark. 

Jesus, is all knowing.  He alone knew a storm was brewing, and yet He still got into that boat!

Your friends may fail you.  Your friends may abandon you when you need them the most.  But Jesus will never leave you.

What storm are you in?

Jesus is in that storm with you.  Rest in Him.  Let Him rebuke the wind and the waves in your life and let Him restore you-

Peace and calm will come.

I know that to be true-

    But that's just me!

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."  Helen Keller

"Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness."  Euripides