Matthew 14:22-32
“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 forth 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’s 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.”
In the midst of the Storm Jesus asks:
- Do you see Me?
- Do you hear Me?
- Do you trust Me?
- Will you obey Me?
Do you see Me?
Often times the storm is too great and too big for us to see God in the midst of it. We look at our current “storm” or circumstance and refuse to look at Jesus who is walking on the water! Sometimes we don’t see Jesus in the midst of the storm because we have created the storm ourselves. We were the ones who got into the boat and deliberately sailed straight into the storm knowing very well what we were getting ourselves into. Now we are ashamed of where we are and are scared that we will never be able to get ourselves out. Look to Jesus. He is in the midst of the storm. Whether it’s a storm that you have deliberately gotten yourself into or whether it is a storm that has been thrust upon you without your consent. Look upon Him, He will guide you in peace. Don’t let the storm shield your eyes from the seeing the hope that Jesus has to offer.
Do you hear Me?
Even when we see Jesus in the midst of the storm, often times we refuse to hear His voice. We say, “Yes Lord I know that you will make good come out of this somehow. I see you in the midst of my circumstance.” But then we don’t sit around long enough to hear what He has to say. He wants to tell you to come out to Him in the midst of the storm. Step out of the boat and walk on the water. He doesn’t promise that the storm will go right away, but He does promise you security and safety in the midst of it. Take time to get before the Lord and ask Him about your storm. He desires to stand beside you in the midst of the storm and He desires to walk with you out of the storm as well. But if we don’t stay around long enough to hear Him, we will be stuck in the boat with no hope of security and safety in the midst of the storm and no hope of getting to the other side where Jesus promised we would go. Open up your eyes and see the Lord standing on the water, then open up your ears to hear what He has to say.
Do you trust Me?
After we have seen the Lord in the storm standing on the water, and after we hear His voice telling us to come out to Him, what do we do? Do we stay in the boat fearful of what will happen if we step onto the water? Or do we have faith like Peter, and step out onto the waves? Do we truly trust the Lord? Do we trust that what He’s saying to us is true and only for our benefit? Do we trust Him enough to not only see Him, and hear His voice in the midst of the storm, but then when He calls to us, step out onto the water where the waves are crashing down all around us? Sometimes we see Jesus in the midst of our circumstance and we even stick around long enough to hear what He has to say, but then what do we do with what we hear? Do we put it into action right away or do we put it aside, maybe for another day? Saying, “I don’t feel like stepping out in faith today.” “I feel like staying in the boat, curled up in a ball, with the storm coming in around me.” “I’m not strong enough to step out.” “I don’t have enough faith.” “The waves are just too big!” “I’m comfortable in the boat.” “Walking on water is impossible and definitely out of my comfort zone.” “Maybe another day Lord, maybe another storm, next time I will fully trust you.” “Let me just stay in my comfortable boat with the rest of the disciples who are encouraging and strengthening my fear.” Have you ever said any of these things to the Lord? Or thought them in your heart? Do we truly trust the Lord in the midst of the storm? Do we have faith that once we step out on the water that He will give us the ability to walk through the waves and stand firm amidst the powerful winds that want to take us down and leave us drowning? He is trustworthy. He will never fail you. And He will never tell you to do something that He hasn’t already equipped you for.
Will you obey Me?
So now it’s our turn to obey Him. We have seen Him in our storm, we have heard His call to “Come” and we truly do trust that what He says is true and secure, now we must obey. We must take that first step out of our comfortable boat onto the unpredictable waves. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, not looking to the left or to the right. We can’t let the storm that’s around us distract us into taking our focus off of the only One who can keep us safe and secure in the midst of the chaos. Don’t doubt like Peter. Follow through in faith to stand face to face with Jesus, the peace in the midst of the storm.
And if you do fall, if you do get distracted by the crashing waves, and you start to sink in the midst of the storm, Jesus will immediately stretch out His hand to keep you from sinking. He will not let you drown. And when it is time to get back into the boat, He will lead you there. Hand in hand, you will walk with Him out of the storm, back in the boat, and onto the promise of the other side.
Promise of “the other side”
Did you notice that the storm didn’t go away until Jesus and Peter got back into the boat? Sometimes Jesus doesn’t say “Peace be still” to the storm right away. Sometimes He requires that you step out in faith in the midst of the storm to walk through it together. He doesn’t promise to make the storm go away, but He does promise to be with you in the midst of it. He does promise to stand with you on the water, offering you stability, security, safety, and peace. And when He asks you to get in the boat, He promises that you will make it to the other side. You may experience a storm or two along the way, but that will just make getting to the other side that much better. You will better appreciate the promise of “the other side” when you come out of the storms that you experienced getting there, alive!
“If You say go I will go. If You say wait I will wait. If You say step out on the water and they say it can’t be done. I’ll fix my eyes on You and I will come!! Because Your ways are higher than my ways, and the plans that You have laid are good and true. If You call me to the fire You will not withdraw Your hand. I will gaze into the flames and look for You!”
