I experienced both great losses and
awesome victories in 2012. However, the one thing that was constant for me
was God's faithfulness through it all. Now that I'm ankle deep in 2013, I
feel like it's time for me to return to God the favor for real, for real. I have the
sneaking suspicion that this is going to be a water-walking kind of year. A
year of growth for me in the areas of faith and trust. Given this, I thought it
would be a good idea to examine the scripture passage that best describes what
God wants from me (and maybe you if you're reading this) this year.
Matthew 14:22-33 reads:
Immediately Jesus made the
disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he
dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a
mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there
alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land,
buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus
went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking
on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out
in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to
them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell
me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said. Then Peter got
down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when
he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save
me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of
little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they
climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat
worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
I'm only going to focus on
the highlighted portion of this passage today.
Lesson #1 - Yes, Jesus will
sometimes SEND you into a storm.
When I first read this
passage, I got stuck on the first sentence. Of course I'd read this many times
before but this was the first time I'd really paid attention to this:
"Immediately Jesus made
the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side."
Made the disciples.
I have to
say, I find it absolutely fascinating that Jesus would make the disciples get in
the boat and go across the lake. I'm going to assume that Jesus knew the wind
was kicking up on the water. How interesting is it then that He tells the
disciples…who are, I suppose, clueless about what's going on…to sail out IN THE
DIRECTION of the storm. Obviously, He had a different kind of teaching to
do.
I'm a firm believer that
conflict builds character. I believe the tension, pain, and struggle I've
experienced in my life is the fuel that God uses to make me stronger. But of
course, that sounds all good in a catchy pop song (Love Kelly Clarkson) or
popular cliche' (What doesn't kill you…) But when stuff starts to get real in
my life, I'm saying, "Forget being strong!" LOL! I'm often looking
around to figure out how I can get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
The truth is, I don't feel strong when I'm stuck in the middle of a storm.
Not. at. all. And *let me my halo off* I'm also quick to look for something or
someone to blame for my predicament.
God: Right here. Put the
blame on me.
What?!
Oh and I'm not beyond
whining, by the way. There have been many times when I have questioned God.
Because of course, I'm omniscient and omnipotent and can see the end from the
beginning (sarcasm). How many times have you thought or even said, "Lord,
You knew what was coming down the road for me, why did You "let me"
walk right into the mess, storm, whatever? Worse, why didn't you just stop the
winds and waves altogether?"
God: Because it's in the
storm that I will show you who I've made you to be.
No wind and waves = No
water-walking.
As Peter found
out, Jesus will sometimes send His followers into a life storm for the sole purpose of showing us something miraculous about Him and ourselves (Click Here to Tweet this). I
can't imagine that Peter was ever the same after walking with Jesus on the
water…even despite his momentary distraction. I'm certain I wouldn't be.
Something changes when you see God do something in your life that only He can
do.
Of course for Peter, the
other disciples and us…this whole thing was all a set-up. Most storms are, you
know. Storms (tough times, rough roads, struggles, trials, whatever you wanna
call them) often set us up for total dependence on God. And like the Daddy he
is, He loves when his kids swing on his arm, trusting that he won't let them go
even when the swinging feels kinda scary. In fact, if we recognize what's going
on relatively quickly, we can shift our reliance from our circumstance…which is
usually our focus in the beginning (What's going on? Why me? How can I fix
it?)...to the One who controls every circumstance. Yes, we might get wet. Yes,
our boats might get rocked. Yes, we might even be scared. But all that is
usually a set up for a magnificent lesson in water-walking with Jesus (i.e.,
putting your absolute faith and trust in Him.)
So from now on, I think I'll
consider my windy days as faith-building exercises. Or miracle-makers. What
about you?
TMLG
Next Lesson: Don't let people
reason away your miracles.