As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the
disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed
the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by
himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night. Meanwhile, the
boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were
battered by the waves. At about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward
them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. "A
ghost!" they said, crying out in terror. But Jesus was quick to comfort
them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid." Matthew 14:22-27
Our devotional thought from Monday may still be
rolling through your mind. I remember the
yellow signs which were evident for a while in the windows of cars and vans
that read, “BABY ON BOARD!” The reason
for the signs was to make anyone aware in case of an accident that they needed
to look for a child. Some even had
multiple children on them to warn of more than one being in the vehicle. It did not take long until others began to
put their own signs in the car windows about pets being “on board” or, even
worse, spoofs such as “Mother-in-Law In Trunk!” which sadly took away from the
important child signage.
Our passage from Matthew 8 related how fear gripped
the hearts of the disciples even when they had a “Jesus On Board” for their
boat. Here in Matthew 11, we find them
in the dark of early morning once again battered by winds on this lake which is
known for its sudden storms. The
scripture doesn’t state they were frightened by the storm this time but by the
appearance of Jesus walking on the waves of the lake out of the middle of the
storm. To use a bit of the common man’s
language, they were “freaked out!”
I’m not going to tell you that I would not have
been just as frightened if Jesus came to me like that. I am going to tell you that I have had him
come in a number of other ways and been nearly as surprised. You see, when Jesus stays tucked away where
he is supposed to be we are comfortable knowing He is close by ready to call
on. But when He approaches from outside
our boat we are sometime uncomfortable when He calls.
That’s what happened to the Scribes and
Pharisees. They had God all wrapped up
in the package of the law and the prophets.
They were quite comfortable relating to Him in that box. But when He showed up in a fleshly form they
could not accept Him and even feared His power over the people. God in Jesus just did not fit their mold.
Say what you will, everyone has some kind of a box
we try to fit God in. Our theology is
carefully written to describe who God is and how He acts. When something spiritual happens we expect it
to be in the confines of our religious acts.
Then all of a sudden Jesus comes walking on the water. Now where is that supposed to fit?
Here is breaking news…Jesus does not live in a
boat, or in a box or in a building called a church. Jesus lives in the omnipotent, omnipresent,
omniscient person of God. He lives in me
and all who have asked Him into their lives to guide and direct their
steps. He strides in His universe
wherever He wishes to go and speaks through whoever or whatever He wishes to
speak. Can we handle that or do we
really need Him to stay in the boat?
Open your spirit and your mind to receive Christ
wherever He chooses to reveal Himself.
You may find that it wasn’t your faith that was too small but your view
of God that limited His power in your life.
Walk on Jesus! Walk on!
Scripture to Claim:
For by Him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him
and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
(Colossians 1:16-17)
