Sent into the Storm
Bunkhouse Beacon - Sent into the Storm
Matthew 14:22-34 NKJV - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
It is a striking and uncomfortable truth that Jesus sent his disciples directly into the storm.
He did not send them by accident, and he was not caught off guard when the winds rose.
If you find yourself in a season of difficulty right now, resist the assumption that God has abandoned you or that something has gone terribly wrong. The storm may be the very assignment.
God does not always lead us around hard things. He leads us through them. The question worth sitting with today is not only where is God, but what is God doing in this storm that I cannot yet see.
Reflection: Have you been treating your current difficulty as evidence that God is absent, when it may in fact be evidence that he is at work?
Practical Application: Write down one specific hardship you are facing. Then write one way God may be using it to shape, redirect, or deepen your faith.
Waiting for Him with you,
Lars