Don’t you love the true story in the Bible about Peter walking on the water? I mean, who else has walked on water before? Well, one time a child walked on our pool cover so that was kind of walking on water I guess, but that doesn’t really count. The cover kept him on the water and his feet didn’t get wet. But Peter really walked on water – as long as he kept his focus on Jesus and not on the storm that was surrounding him at the time. Oh, that storm. That’s the part that I’m thinking about today.
So often we read that portion of Scripture, knowing what is about to happen, and miss the beginning. Mark 6:45-46 says, “And immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray” (NASB).
Jesus had just fed the 5,000 and now He sends His disciples into a boat while He stays on the land to pray. And then something happens. A storm. A BIG storm. Many of those men in that boat were fishermen. They had been in storms before, but this time they were scared. Really scared.
Which makes me think. Jesus knows everything. He knew there would be a storm, but He sent His disciples there anyway. They were right where they were supposed to be. In the storm. But Jesus wasn’t far away. He was right where He could see them and He came to them. Okay, He came to them in a way that frightened them even more, but He was there with them.
Sometimes we are in storms just like those disciples. We are right where we’re supposed to be, but we’re still in a storm. So what do we do then? We can remember that God is also with us, just like He was with the disciples. We can think about what we know is true about God. We know that God is always good. He is faithful. He loves us. You can make your own list. And then thank Him for those things that you know are true about Him.
I’m sure that as the waves pounded on that boat and the lightening crashed loudly around them the disciples were not thinking, “Wow, this is a really bad situation. God is good at making good things come out of really bad situations.” No. They were terrified. But God did come and make something good come out of that really bad situation. He came and calmed the storm. And we get to read about that amazing time when Peter walked on the water.
Jesus proved that He is good. He is with us all the time. He is faithful. And He loves us. Even in a storm.
I like the new song by David Crowder, “I Am,” where he sings about God holding onto us, “In the middle of the storm I am holding onto you.” Here it is:
Lori Schulz 