Back Through the Storm
In reading Matthew 14:22-32, I realized some things I never realized before about the way God intercedes in our lives. The scripture is of the well-known story of Jesus walking on water. Jesus had been preaching and when He was ready to dismiss the crowd, He sent his disciples on ahead to their next destination. They traveled by boat and moved quickly because the winds were strong. They were already a good distance away when Jesus was ready to meet back up with them. So, Jesus walked on the water to catch up with his disciples.
It was evening. When the disciples saw Jesus on the water coming toward them, they thought He was a ghost. Jesus knew they were afraid and so He called out to them telling them it was Him. Peter basically told Jesus to prove it. He told Jesus to have him walk on water toward Him if He was actually who He claimed to be. Jesus told him to come. Peter was walking on water until he saw the wind, grew afraid, and began to sink. He called out for Jesus to save him and Jesus "immediately" grabbed him (v.31).
This piece of scripture shows that God is willing to go into the storm to reach us. We often think He's not there, though, because it doesn't always happen the way we believe it will or want it to. The Bible says that when Peter began to sink, Jesus IMMEDIATELY caught Him. God wastes no time in coming to our aide, but we think He isn't present because things don't immediately change or get better.
In reading this story again, I realized a couple of things about how God works. In no way is it like how we often expect Him to intercede and save us. This can be seen by the fact that after Jesus saved Peter, He led him back to the boat. The first thing I noticed (in terms of God's interceding process) is that Jesus didn't just transport Peter into the boat. Can you imagine? After almost drowning I would have been even more terrified to be out on the water. Peter was soaked, afraid, and probably demoralized. He looked foolish.
Rather than sparing Peter further embarrassment or terror, Jesus has Peter go back the hard way-the way he'd fallen the first time. He led him back to the boat by walking on water. A lot of times we idealize what it will be like when God finally arrives during our trials. We think that He'll come in and make everything better. No more pain or tears. Unfortunately, that's often not how it works.
It was evening. When the disciples saw Jesus on the water coming toward them, they thought He was a ghost. Jesus knew they were afraid and so He called out to them telling them it was Him. Peter basically told Jesus to prove it. He told Jesus to have him walk on water toward Him if He was actually who He claimed to be. Jesus told him to come. Peter was walking on water until he saw the wind, grew afraid, and began to sink. He called out for Jesus to save him and Jesus "immediately" grabbed him (v.31).
This piece of scripture shows that God is willing to go into the storm to reach us. We often think He's not there, though, because it doesn't always happen the way we believe it will or want it to. The Bible says that when Peter began to sink, Jesus IMMEDIATELY caught Him. God wastes no time in coming to our aide, but we think He isn't present because things don't immediately change or get better.
In reading this story again, I realized a couple of things about how God works. In no way is it like how we often expect Him to intercede and save us. This can be seen by the fact that after Jesus saved Peter, He led him back to the boat. The first thing I noticed (in terms of God's interceding process) is that Jesus didn't just transport Peter into the boat. Can you imagine? After almost drowning I would have been even more terrified to be out on the water. Peter was soaked, afraid, and probably demoralized. He looked foolish.
Rather than sparing Peter further embarrassment or terror, Jesus has Peter go back the hard way-the way he'd fallen the first time. He led him back to the boat by walking on water. A lot of times we idealize what it will be like when God finally arrives during our trials. We think that He'll come in and make everything better. No more pain or tears. Unfortunately, that's often not how it works.
The second thing I noticed in reading this scripture is that rather than taking Peter to a safer place (land), Jesus leads Peter
back into the place where things were shaky (the boat). God keeps us in the storm and leads us back to those situations that
hurt, rather than allowing us to run far away with Him. He would rather
that we walk by faith than play it safe. After having fallen and now being in Jesus' hands, Peter still had to practice his faith in the midst of the storm.
God will often lead us back to the place of insecurity before He calms the storm. It seems cruel, especially when you're the one being led back into it. Though, it is going back through that storm that makes us stronger and more resilient. It is what strengthens our faith and relationship with Him.
We are all too aware of the things that went wrong the first time we were in the storm. We can picture all the ways we could fall again. It is going back in that fear, though, that allows us to be more willing to lean into God's arms and have Him lead us through it. Instead of going through the storm by ourselves, this time we have a reliable partner.
The third point I noticed is that it is only when both Peter and Jesus climbed into the boat together that the storm stopped. It is only when you choose to go back to those uncertain places He is leading you to -WITH Him- that you will see the storm begin to die down. It may not be as immediate as it seems in this story, but remember that Peter still had to journey through the uncertainty with God before things were at peace around him.
God will often lead us back to the place of insecurity before He calms the storm. It seems cruel, especially when you're the one being led back into it. Though, it is going back through that storm that makes us stronger and more resilient. It is what strengthens our faith and relationship with Him.
We are all too aware of the things that went wrong the first time we were in the storm. We can picture all the ways we could fall again. It is going back in that fear, though, that allows us to be more willing to lean into God's arms and have Him lead us through it. Instead of going through the storm by ourselves, this time we have a reliable partner.
The third point I noticed is that it is only when both Peter and Jesus climbed into the boat together that the storm stopped. It is only when you choose to go back to those uncertain places He is leading you to -WITH Him- that you will see the storm begin to die down. It may not be as immediate as it seems in this story, but remember that Peter still had to journey through the uncertainty with God before things were at peace around him.
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