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Here is what He said, "Let us go over unto the other side of the lake..." Keep in mind that if Jesus said they were going to the other side, that meant they were absolutely going to the other side. Nothing could stop His words from coming to pass because they originate in the Spirit and they produce life and action that impacts this natural realm!

The particular wording, "Let us go over" is dierchomai in Greek, and it means to TRAVERSE. Perhaps I am making more of it than should be, but I love that word "traverse!" The word traverse seems to be filled with adventure and destiny, and as we will see, their traverse to the other side of the lake indeed was filled with adventure and destiny.

Dierchomai is from the Greek words dia and erchomai. The word dia is a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act. The word erchomai has meanings that include -  to accompany, appear, bring, come, enter. As I looked through the frequent usage of this word erchomai in the New Testament, it seemed to be used mostly in the context of "persons" coming, appearing, entering; it is used much less frequently in the context of "things" coming. I believe this is significant.

When we put these definitions together, we seem to have this declaration, Let us TRAVERSE as a channel of the act of the PERSON of Christ appearing and entering!

I believe that He is calling us today to "Traverse in life as a channel through which the Person of Christ enters our sphere of influence!"

Traversing Through Life

He also said where they were going, "Unto the other side of the lake..." The word translated as "unto" is eis in Greek. It is a primary preposition meaning "to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or purpose." The particular wording, "the other side" is peran in Greek, meaning "to 'pierce' through, that is, across, BEYOND, farther." When we put ALL these definitions together, here is the bold declaration, Let us TRAVERSE as a channel through which Christ can pierce through into the BEYOND!

Friend, I believe that He is calling us today to "Traverse in life as a channel through which the Person of Christ enters our sphere of influence, piercing through obstacles and taking people BEYOND their current experience!

"And they launched forth..." What are we waiting for? It is time to launch forth into a new dimension of life... Christ is in the "ship" with us and nothing can stop His words from coming to pass.

Our verse goes on to say, "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. (Mark 4:36-37) I don't know about you, but I do not want to be in one of those "other little ships." I want to be in the ship that Christ is in!

It seems in life that there are always those in "other little ships" that want to be around Jesus, but do not necessarily want to be in the ship WITH Him. I find it interesting that there is no more mention of those "other little ships" perhaps they did not make it through the storm.

Talk About Storms

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full." I believe that this is perhaps a prophetic picture of the times we are living in. Now then, I am NOT saying we are heading into a storm! I AM saying that there is a lot of TALK about storms and uncertainty!

It seems that everywhere you turn there are:

Political storms and uncertainty... Economic storms and uncertainty... Moral storms and uncertainty... The world seems to be full of storms and uncertainty... and it always HAS been! Unfortunately, we tend to look at the past through a lens of nostalgia and longing for a simpler time. The trouble is, that time only exists in our memories and imaginations. I have been around long enough to know that there is always something potentially unsettling happening.

However, those who are wise always come out on top during storms and uncertainty! And why is this?  Because they refuse to let FEAR be their motivator!

Our verse goes on to say, "...and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full." (Mark 4:36-37) Now then, let's think about this for a moment. What usually happens to a ship that is full of water?  It sinks. Notice, they were NOT sinking! I believe that there was a miracle happening right before their eyes, but they did not see it because of their fear. Friend, you may be going through a storm in your life right now... there may be waves of adversity, waves of doubt, waves of discouragement crashing into your "ship" to the point that it is full. However, I want to prophesy over your life that because Christ is in your "ship" you will NOT sink!

The "point" is really this - What will WE do in the midst of storms and uncertainty?

To be continued...

Doug Fortune

www.dougfortune.org