At least you aren't a pig

One of my favorite stories is found in Mark 4:36-41. This is the story of Jesus and his disciples on the boat crossing to Capernum when it starts to storm. The apostles start to panic and think they are going to die. It's interesting that they are so frightened when their profession is fishing. They are on boats all the time! It must have been pretty bad for them to be shaken up. However,  they failed to realize that there is NO way they are going to drown when Jesus is with them.  Heavenly Father and Jesus aren't going to let them fail if they are with Christ. 

Like the apostles, we often feel overwhelmed. We get scared, think we are going to fail, and possibly drown. I know everyone feels this way. How many times do we think to ourselves 'I can't do this anymore' or 'I'm failing at everything" ? It happens all the time in school, family life, and our professions. We need to remember that if we are in Jesus's boat, He is not going to let us drown. We are pushed and tested to prove our faith. Sometimes, it is a reminder of where we should be focused. 

I also find Legion's story very interesting. He's the guy who has been possessed by many devils. It has driven him to the point of uncontrollable despair. I sort of feel bad for the guy. However, I want to think about the devils for a moment here. They are spirits and they don't have bodies. They will never have bodies. There is nothing they wouldn't do to be able to have a body of flesh and bone. They will tempt anyone and everyone so they can get inside and reside within a body. They don't care about the body shape, size, color, skill etc. They don't care what it looks like, because without flesh and bone, you can't progress. Our body was a gift from God for our spirit to reside in. We take our gift of a body for granted. 

We complain about the way we look. 

We complain that we wanted straight hair instead of curly. 

We complain that we are the wrong size. 

We complain that we are too tall or too short. 

You know how insulting that must be for God? From a young age we are taught that when we are given a gift, we are to graciously accept it and be thankful. Our body is a gift from God, we should appreciate everything about it. 

When Legion asked Jesus to release the spirits from him, the devils asked Jesus, "...Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them." The spirits would rather have a pigs body, than no body at all. That is how important having a body is. So, love yourself. Be happy you have a body. They are important. 

Don't forget to be awesome!