Matthew 14:22-33 Living Bible (TLB)
22 Immediately after this, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he stayed to get the people started home.
23-24 Then afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. Night fell, and out on the lake the disciples were in trouble. For the wind had risen and they were fighting heavy seas.
25 About four o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water! 26 They screamed in terror, for they thought he was a ghost.
27 But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said.
28 Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.”
29 “All right,” the Lord said, “come along!”
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.
33 The others sat there, awestruck. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
I was thinking to myself, Jesus may have known that a storm was going to come and he sent his disciples into it anyways. There was another time the disciples were faced with a storm, with Jesus sleeping in the boat this time.
Mark 4:35-41 Living Bible (TLB)
35 As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). 37 But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. 38 Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?”
39 Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!
40 And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?”
41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?”
Sometimes God may call us into a storm. Sending us into the storm does not make him unkind or uncaring. We may not know all the reasons for why we are in the storm, but the ultimate reason would be for His glory to be shown. If you feel like you are in a storm I wanted to encourage you: its OK. God sees you. He knows. He knows it's hard and how you are struggling to keep your boat upright in the midst of the wind and the waves. He knows you're bailing hard and it really does feel some times like this boat is going under and everything will be lost. In spite of how you feel, it is possible to keep trusting in God. It is possible to praise Him. It is possible to believe for light in the midst of darkness. Remind yourself of who God is, not how big your storm is. Remind yourself of the love and care that he has for you. The best way to do this is spending time in His word and in worship and prayer.
Sometimes we really do feel like those disciples, we're about to sink and we wonder, "God, don't you even care?" And God's patient reply is once again (after all you've seen, after all you've learned), "Don't you even yet have confidence in me?" What has God brought you through already? Remember where you have been. And remember where you are going.
The lyrics to the song "Captain" can be seen in this video, please watch it:
Hold on friend. Every storm will eventually pass. It won't last forever. Peace will come.
God Bless You,
Lisa
P.S. If you want to read more thoughts about being in a storm, you can read my previous blog posts here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
