"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God.'" Matt. 14:22-33
Are you going through a storm in your life? Are the winds and rain of this world shaking your boat endlessly, why you huddle fearfully in the middle, drenched and shivering, wondering why this is happening to you? And you cry out, "Lord, why is this happening to me? Please save me!"
It is our natural human response to cry out that way. No one likes to suffer, most of all for reasons that we do not understand. And it is very natural for us to ask God why on earth He placed the storm there in the first place, and to ask Him to take the storm away. But we forget that our amazing God is not limited by circumstances; the circumstances are under His control. If we really believe that He is a good and sovereign God, then we know that He places the storm there for a reason. What that reason is, we will discover in time, but we know that is for good.
Jesus sent the disciples out, immediately, Matthew emphasizes, into the lake on a boat. Whether the storm was His intention or not, and whether He intended for the disciples to be caught in it or not, we do not know, we will never be able to tell. But that does not really matter at all, because what difference does a storm make to our all-powerful God who can walk on water? What does it matter how strong the winds and rain are to our God who can calm the storm at His wish? "And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased." Thinking about our lives, what does it matter how bad or terrible our circumstances may seem to our God who is in control or every circumstance in our life? What does it matter how much we are struggling or suffering to a God who can just walk right into our lives and make everything right?
The power of God is not in question, it is for certain. What is in doubt here is our faith. What is our response like in the midst of the storm? And here this lesson is strengthened by Peter's experience. He got his wish to walk on water, and he was actually able to! With the power of Jesus. But what happened? "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" He began to doubt! He saw the terrible circumstances around him and began to doubt, even though he had experienced the power of Jesus. Isn't that so typical of us as well? If any of us were in Peter's shoes I doubt we would have done much better. The Lord says to us "Come", just like He said to Peter that stormy night, and yet we doubt and fail to trust. We experience the power of God in our lives, and still when the storms come we refuse to trust, refuse to submit. I think it is worthwhile for us to remember that Peter eventually began to sink not because Jesus was not able to make him walk on water; he sank because he failed to trust.
When Jesus got into the boat and the wind ceased, "those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God." I have experienced quite a few storms in my life, some worse than others, but by the grace of God I have had the joy of seeing Him walk right into the storm and calm it, and then afterwards say to me, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Truly, I was so foolish to doubt.
We cannot control the storms like Jesus can, but one thing we can do is to gradually change our response. We know that all things work for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to His purpose; we know that when a storm comes it is for a reason. And one reason is definitely to strengthen our faith. It is not in our nature to trust; but we can learn gradually, as we see more and more of God, to trust Him even in the midst of the storm, with the perspective that He is working through all things for good, to accomplish His glorious purposes for us and through us, and to just hang on in faith. This is where real tough faith is built, the kind of faith that Jesus wants. Those who follow Christ and profess to be His disciples will definitely experience these storms in life; He promises it. What will your response be?
"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Are you going through a storm in your life? Are the winds and rain of this world shaking your boat endlessly, why you huddle fearfully in the middle, drenched and shivering, wondering why this is happening to you? And you cry out, "Lord, why is this happening to me? Please save me!"
It is our natural human response to cry out that way. No one likes to suffer, most of all for reasons that we do not understand. And it is very natural for us to ask God why on earth He placed the storm there in the first place, and to ask Him to take the storm away. But we forget that our amazing God is not limited by circumstances; the circumstances are under His control. If we really believe that He is a good and sovereign God, then we know that He places the storm there for a reason. What that reason is, we will discover in time, but we know that is for good.
Jesus sent the disciples out, immediately, Matthew emphasizes, into the lake on a boat. Whether the storm was His intention or not, and whether He intended for the disciples to be caught in it or not, we do not know, we will never be able to tell. But that does not really matter at all, because what difference does a storm make to our all-powerful God who can walk on water? What does it matter how strong the winds and rain are to our God who can calm the storm at His wish? "And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased." Thinking about our lives, what does it matter how bad or terrible our circumstances may seem to our God who is in control or every circumstance in our life? What does it matter how much we are struggling or suffering to a God who can just walk right into our lives and make everything right?
The power of God is not in question, it is for certain. What is in doubt here is our faith. What is our response like in the midst of the storm? And here this lesson is strengthened by Peter's experience. He got his wish to walk on water, and he was actually able to! With the power of Jesus. But what happened? "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" He began to doubt! He saw the terrible circumstances around him and began to doubt, even though he had experienced the power of Jesus. Isn't that so typical of us as well? If any of us were in Peter's shoes I doubt we would have done much better. The Lord says to us "Come", just like He said to Peter that stormy night, and yet we doubt and fail to trust. We experience the power of God in our lives, and still when the storms come we refuse to trust, refuse to submit. I think it is worthwhile for us to remember that Peter eventually began to sink not because Jesus was not able to make him walk on water; he sank because he failed to trust.
When Jesus got into the boat and the wind ceased, "those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God." I have experienced quite a few storms in my life, some worse than others, but by the grace of God I have had the joy of seeing Him walk right into the storm and calm it, and then afterwards say to me, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Truly, I was so foolish to doubt.
We cannot control the storms like Jesus can, but one thing we can do is to gradually change our response. We know that all things work for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to His purpose; we know that when a storm comes it is for a reason. And one reason is definitely to strengthen our faith. It is not in our nature to trust; but we can learn gradually, as we see more and more of God, to trust Him even in the midst of the storm, with the perspective that He is working through all things for good, to accomplish His glorious purposes for us and through us, and to just hang on in faith. This is where real tough faith is built, the kind of faith that Jesus wants. Those who follow Christ and profess to be His disciples will definitely experience these storms in life; He promises it. What will your response be?
"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
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