Instagram Jesus Week 6: Devotional Day 5

Instagram Jesus Week 6: Devotional Day 5

DAY 5 – Friday

Daily devotional

Read

Mark 1:25-27, Mark 4:39-31, Psalm 46:10 

Ask

When was the last time you grew still before God?

What happens after Jesus commands silence or stillness in each story?

How did the people witnessing the events respond?

Reflect

When my oldest daughter was a baby I learned to appreciate silence. I appreciated it when she’d finally fall asleep after an evening of colicky cries. I feel the peace of silence when my three daughters are tucked in bed and the house grows quiet at the end of a long day.

Jesus used silence to reveal his power and authority over both the seen and the unseen world. In Mark 1:25 Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit by silencing him into defeat. It wasn’t a recommended silence like when I ask my kids to be quiet when I’m on the phone. It was a command requiring immediate results. Jesus’ sword-like words were swift and he stood before the crowd a victor. The people were astonished. Can you just see the gaping mouths and wide eyes of witnesses in the synagogue? 

In Mark 4:35-41 we see Jesus revealing his power over the natural world using a similar command, but this time he used two words tightly associated with silence: peace and stillness. Where the unclean spirit was silenced into defeat, the stormy sea and waves in Mark 4 were commanded into a calm stillness. Can you imagine the sound of the wind and waves battering the boat? The silence following Jesus’ command must have been deafening.

In Psalm 46:10 we see God command stillness in our lives in order for us to recognize his holiness. Sometimes it’s our environments that need silencing and other times it’s the thoughts in our own heads needing to grow still before God. Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” God uses stillness and silence to reveal his holiness and authority. When was the last time you grew still before God?