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 the 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?” Matthew 14:22-31 NKJV
I’m
sure many of us first heard this story of Jesus walking on the water when we
were quite young and attending Sunday School, sitting in our little chairs and
listening in fascination as our teacher related this miracle of our Lord. I know I was, and I remember thinking Peter
wasn’t too bright because he turned his eyes away from Jesus and suffered the
consequences. Of course, as I grew
older, I began to see just how often I had followed in Peter’s footsteps by
making the same mistake that he did by choosing to look away and focus on my
circumstances rather than on the promises of God.
If
you look closely at this story, it becomes apparent that all that occurred was
a setup by Jesus for the purpose of teaching the disciples, and us as well, the
importance of looking to Him for our deliverance in times of trouble. Jesus intentionally told the disciples to
leave ahead of Him knowing the storm was coming, and rather than looking for
another boat to follow them in, He decided to walk across the sea to where they
were in trouble. Today I want to share
with you just four of many points I believe are found in this passage, which I
believe we as believers need to remember in these times of trouble that so many
of us find ourselves in today.
Obedience
can bring a storm.
The
disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to proceed without Him, having no idea
that by doing so they would encounter a storm so great that they would fear for
their very lives. Jesus, on the other hand, knew exactly what was about to
happen and sent them on their way knowing full well that they would suffer no
harm. Have you ever followed the path
you feel Jesus wants you to take and encountered troubles that make you question
your choice to do so? God knows exactly
what will happen when we follow His Son and will never send us someplace where
His power cannot save.
For
this is commendable, if because of conscience toward
God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are
beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer,
if you take it patiently, this is commendable before
God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that you should follow His steps: 1 Peter 2:20-21 NKJV
And
being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the
death of the cross. Philippians 2:8 NKJV
Jesus
knows what we are going through.
As
big as that sea was, have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus knew
exactly where the disciples were? In all
of that expanse, in the middle of a great storm, Jesus walked directly to where
they were in trouble. Jesus not only
knows what we are going through, but He also knows exactly where we are. Even though we might feel we cannot see Jesus
when we are in distress, He can see us.
His assistance, comfort, and deliverance are available to us if we
simply call on Him and ask for His help.
God’s omniscience and omnipresence guarantee we are never alone.
For we
do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in
all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. Hebrews
4:15-16 NKJV
then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out
of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of
judgment, 2Peter 2:9 NKJV
Jesus
has perfect timing.
The
disciples who were fishermen were well acquainted with being on the sea in
storms, and at first were probably unconcerned with what they were encountering. Yet since Jesus had sent them off in the
evening, and now we see it was the fourth watch or almost morning, they had
spent a good twelve hours battling to cross a sea that was only five miles
wide. I have no doubt that it was at
this point that even these men were beginning to fear for their lives. Why did Jesus wait so long to appear? I think quite possibly Jesus waits until we
acknowledge we cannot do it on our own before He appears to deliver us from our
troubles.
The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble;
and He knows those who trust in Him.
Nahum 1:7 NKJV
And the
Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly
kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 2 Timothy 4:18 NKJV
Success
of our walk depends on the focus of our eyes.
It
is almost comical to think back to that Sunday School class and remember when
the teacher asked the question “why did Peter begin to sink”? I can still hear ten little voices crying out
“he took his eyes off of Jesus”! Even
little children understand the point of this story and yet as adults, how often
do we forget? How often do we begin to
focus on our surroundings, our circumstances, or our relationships and forget
to keep our eyes on Jesus? Never doubt
that Satan’s goal is to use this world to change our focus and cause us to
stumble. I can never forget the words of
a hymn we sung so often when I was young;
“Turn your eyes upon
Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow
strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not
look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For
the things which are seen are temporary, but the
things which are not seen are eternal. 2
Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV
the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the
hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints, Ephesians 1:18 NKJV
As
we see this world approaching it’s day of judgment, and we find ourselves as
believers experiencing troubles and difficulties, never forget to turn your
eyes upon Jesus.
Keep
watching.
