Have you ever noticed storms never bothered Jesus?
(Matthew 8:23-26 AMP) “When He got into the boat, His
disciples followed Him. And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that
the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. And the
disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!” He
said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and
there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness]. The
men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the
winds and the sea obey Him?”
Then another time (Matthew 14: 22 -27 AMP):“Immediately He (Jesus) directed the disciples to
get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee ], while He sent the crowds away. After He had
dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When it
was evening, He was there alone. But the boat [by this time] was
already a long distance from land, tossed and battered by the
waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the
night (3:00-6:00
a.m. ) Jesus came to them, walking
on the sea.”
Jesus is never surprised or intimidated about our storms.
He just spoke to storms and walked on them.
However; we do seem to allow them to bother us. Let’s
continue with Matthew 14: 27-33. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea,
they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But
immediately He spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I! Do not be
afraid!”
Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You,
command me to come to You on the water.”
He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the
boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he
saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and
he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus extended His hand and caught him, saying
to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then
those in the boat worshiped Him [with awe-inspired reverence], saying, “Truly,
You are the Son of God!”
We all go through storms. The question is; when the storms
come, where is our focus? As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus he remained
safe. The moment Peter looked at the storm he began to sink.
I found a key change over the Christmas holidays for
Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) which says, “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord
with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In
all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your
paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].”
Learning to trust Jesus in our storms can be difficult
because we continually focus on the storm, the verdict, the diagnosis, another
person causing the problem, etc. I want to encourage you to keep your focus on
Jesus, not your situation. Call out to Him as Peter did. Hear Him say, "Come!" Then trust Him to take
your hand and walk with you through the storm.
He loves you and He is trustworthy.
It is a good idea to seek Him before you run into storms.
Then your relationship of trust will have begun growing and you will know where
to turn. Otherwise it’s like trying to
catch the boat in the middle of the storm not knowing where to look.
Blessings on your day!
Karen
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