Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

His Power is Strong {No Matter What Monday}

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We saw last week in Mark 4 that Jesus led His disciples into a storm on the Sea of Galilee. As the waves threatened and Jesus performed a miracle, the disciples learned more about their weakness and His strength. 

“And [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” (Mark 4:39-41)

The disciples’ faith was weak. They knew where to turn in their troubles—they ran to Jesus. But their fear of the storm’s power outweighed their confidence in Jesus’s presence. Can you imagine that moment when Jesus calmed the sea and then called them out for their fear and doubt? 

But the disciples’ weak faith put Jesus’s strength on display. When He spoke to the wind and the waves, there was immediate and complete calm on the sea. The disciples had seen Him heal diseases and cast out demons, and yet they were amazed and asked themselves: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  I would imagine that their fear turned to faith and their confidence in Christ grew. 

Maybe today you’re in the middle of the storm of suffering, and God hasn’t stilled the wind and the waves yet. You’ve pleaded and begged, but the storm still rages. I don’t know why you’re suffering, but I do know this: God will use your suffering to show you more of your weakness and send you running to Him for strength. In His perfect timing, He will speak peace to the waves that threaten to drown you, and you will arrive on the shore with greater confidence in His power. 

No matter what you face this week, when your faith is weak, His power is strong. 

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Jesus is With You as You Suffer {No Matter What Monday}

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I have many parenting moments that I’m not proud of, but one of my worst mom-fails happened as I slept. My daughter was frightened in the middle of the night and came to my room to wake me up. She shook my shoulder and said my name, but I kept snoozing. My neglected little girl eventually gave up and went back to bed. 

As I read Mark 4, I wonder if the disciples felt a little bit like my daughter that day on the Sea of Galilee. They were scared, and Jesus was sleeping. 

“On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:35–38)

Let’s pretend we never heard this story in Sunday school, and we don’t know what the next verses say. (We’ll get to them next week.) What does this passage teach us about being in the middle of the storm of suffering? 

When the waves are crashing over the side of your boat and it’s filling with water, it’s doesn’t mean Jesus  has abandoned you. Jesus was right there with the disciples, and He’s right here with you. 

If it seems like Jesus is sleeping while you suffer, it’s not because He doesn’t care. It’s because He cares about you that He’s waiting for the perfect time to calm the storm. As we’ll see next week, He always has a purpose to His timing, even when we can’t understand it. And in the meantime, you can trust that He is with you.  

No matter what you face this week, Jesus is with you in the storm of your suffering. 

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God is Good While We Wait {No Matter What Monday}

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Have you ever been so eager to see how a book ends that it makes you rush toward the finish? Often I skim quickly through pages of character development, scenic descriptions, and emotionally-laden dialogue because I just can’t wait to see the outcome. I miss the goodness and beauty as I rush through the tension to the resolution.

In a similar way, I sometimes miss the beauty of God’s goodness in the struggles of life because I’m weary of waiting. I shared last week how much I hate to wait. But God’s Word reminds us that the Author of our story always shows His goodness to us—not just by bringing an end to our waiting, but in the dreary, dragging, difficult middle.

In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah is in a tough spot. He has forgotten his happiness and finds himself in deep turmoil (Lamentations 3:17). He calls to mind God’s faithfulness, steadfast love, and daily mercies, and he puts his hope in the Lord (Lamentations 3:21-24). But his suffering doesn’t instantly end. He has peace, but he also still has problems. And then he says:

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him “ (Lamentations 3:25).

The Lord is good to us in our waiting. We don’t only look forward to future goodness when our wait is over. We can cling to His present goodness right here in the messy middle.

While you wait, God will hear you when you cry out to Him, and He will be with you (Micah 7:7, Psalm 40:1, Joshua 1:9, Hebrews 13:5).

While you wait, God will renew your strength when you are weary (Isaiah 40:31).

While you wait, God will never stop caring for you—not for one single minute (Psalm 23:6).

No matter what you face this week, God is good while you wait.

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Wait for the Lord {No Matter What Monday}

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I hate to wait. As someone who hates to wait at red lights, you can imagine the distress I felt last month when I learned that to renew my husband’s car registration, one of us would need to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles in person and visit not just one but THREE separate departments in the building. And as the one who doesn’t have a full-time job, this lovely responsibility fell to me.

We groan when we hear that we need to visit the DMV, don’t we? Because we know we will have to wait. We expect to wait at the DMV, doctor’s offices, and the car line at school. But these are all minor inconveniences compared to the big waits in life. Maybe you’re waiting for healing, for reconciliation in a relationship, or for a prodigal child to return. Maybe you don’t know which way to go, and you’re waiting for direction.

While I knew I’d eventually leave the DMV with a little sticker for my husband’s license plate, we often don’t know when or how our waiting will end. What we do know is the One we are waiting for.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)

We can be strong and have courage as we wait, because we know the Lord is with us. Our hope isn’t in a particular outcome; our hope is in Him. His presence gives us peace as we wait.

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” (Psalm 39:7)

And as we wait, we can have peace because of the promises of God’s Word. The truth of His Word sustains us as we wait.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.” (Psalm 130:5)

Waiting is hard, friends. But we are not left alone. We are waiting for the Lord, who gives us hope through the promises of His Word.

No matter what you face this week, let your heart take courage as you wait for the Lord.

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