What would Moses have been without
a Red Sea?
What about Joshua without the walls of Jericho?
David without a Giant?
Samson without the Philistines to fight?
You get it.
At least some of these men would have never been heard of again without a major victory that emerged from their particular struggle. So it was with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
After feeding the multitude, Jesus instructed the disciples to get in a boat and meet him on the other side of this body of water. It had all the appearance of a nice boat ride into the sunset. What could go wrong?
Plenty.
A sudden storm tossed their boat, shook their faith and literally rocked their world. And to beat it all, Jesus knew what they were about to go into and allowed them to sail anyway.
As for himself, Jesus went up into the mountains, waited and watched.
I love this little line of scripture…
“He saw them toiling and rowing.” Mk 6:48
How thrilling to know that His eyes are upon us as we navigate through our storms. From his point of view, Jesus can see the gathering and darkened clouds. Take comfort my friend. The careful gaze of redemption is always upon you. You will outlast the storm.
Right on time, the saviour walked on the water to bring deliverance to the disciples. Peter walked out to meet him, sank and was pulled up again by the Lord. The next thing you know, Jesus was in the boat and immediately they were on dry land.
Once there, an accelerated motion of ministry began. The disciples involved themselves in doing the works that Jesus had called and trained them to do. These men learned that it was their storm that pushed them into their destiny. They learned to trust the light of revelation even while riding through the darkness of a midnight gale.
These rain soaked and water logged disciples went on to proclaim the gospel, establish the church, write about half of the New Testament and push back against the forces of evil through the power of the Holy Spirit. What’s your storm driving you too?
You can’t see it now, but there’s a purpose behind your problem. There’s a benefit to your burden and a Christ in the middle of your crises.
Paul said it best when he penned the following, “What shall we say to these things, If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31
So, thank you tears. While weeping I learned that “joy comes in the morning.”
Thank you heavy, heavy burden. In carrying you, I learned that I can cast my cares upon Jesus because he cares for me.
Thanks even to persecution, because through it I’ve learned that I’m not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed.
What a lesson. Troubles are not meant to harm me, but move me.
They are moving me to a blessed and fruitful place in Jesus my Lord.
