Monday, September 10, 2012

Seeing Jesus like you've never seen Him before

Matthew 14 has always been interesting to me. Verse 22 says that Jesus made His disciples go over to the other side of the Sea and as they traveled they find themselves in a terrible storm, unable to make any headway, literally being tossed around on the sea. Part of the reason I find this so interesting is that the disciples, in being obedient to Jesus, found themselves in a storm. How often do we find ourselves in a storm and immediately assume something must be wrong in our walk with the Lord? Matthew’s account of this event reveals some great truths in coping with the storms you face.

1. Verse 25 says Jesus came walking on the water to His disciples during the “fourth watch”. This would have been between 3:00-6:00 AM. So He literally came to them during the darkest hours of the night. Maybe you are at one of those “dark” places of life. If so, look for the Lord. You may not be making any progress in getting through your storm. It’s at those times He comes in the midst of the storm.

2. When Jesus first appears walking on the water toward His disciples, the bible says the disciples were “troubled” and shouted “It’s a ghost!” I think that’s a gentle way of saying they were freaking out and ready to jump in and swim for shore. They had never seen the Lord walk on water. Oh, they had seen many miracles at this point, but never THIS miracle. Here’s the point … storms have a way of revealing the Savior in a way we have not seen before. The disciples would have never had this experience with Jesus had they not first been in a storm. Maybe in your storm today, the Lord wants to reveal Himself to you in a way you have never seen before.

3. Verse 27 – in announcing who He is to His disciples He says “Be of good cheer”, literally “cheer up”. What a seemingly odd thing to say in the midst of the storm. But then Jesus tells them why they can cheer up. Just after saying “be of good cheer” He proclaims “It is I”. Literally the Greek says “I am”. Jesus is declaring His power over the storm as the great “I am”. In fact as soon as He gets into the boat with the disciples the bible says the “wind ceased”. Whatever your storm is today, Jesus simply says “I am”. I am your peace. I am your joy. I am your deliverer. I am your provider. Then He proclaims “do not be afraid”. One possible translation of this given the tense of the language would be, “Stop fearing, and don’t ever fear again.” Allow Him in the boat with you and watch as He calms the sea around you.

4. I love the fact that Peter asked for permission to join the Lord and actually walked on water, albeit for a short time. But he was the only one who had the faith to get out of the boat in the middle of the storm; the only one willing to place complete faith and trust in Jesus. But verse 30 tells us he sees how the “wind was boisterous” and he begin to sink. In other words when the stop seemed to get worse he took his eyes off of Jesus and put them on the storm. It was then he began to sink. We, like Peter, start out with good intentions but at times our faith falters. That doesn’t mean we have failed or are a failure. We simply need to follow Peter’s example when our faith is weak. He chose to look to Jesus! Maybe you are in a storm and you doubt the Lord’s presence in your life. Or maybe you doubt whether He will help or even can help. Let me remind you He is the only one who can really help. Maybe today the Lord is saying to you, “Take your eyes off of the waves around you and fix your eyes on Me.”

I read a story of a ship that was sinking in the middle of a storm, and the captain called out to the crew and said, “Does anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward and said, “Yes sir, I know how to pray.” The captain said, “Wonderful, you pray while the rest of us put on life jackets … we're one short.” Maybe those around you are jumping ship or looking for their way of escape. Today do what you know to do. Pray, then look for Jesus to show up amidst your storm.

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