This is a hastily thrown together post, but I wanted to share it and get some feedback. Jonathan Carroll and I are "studying" the bible together (I put studying in quotes because we're over 1,000 miles apart and have no way to meet and discuss, blah, blah, blah…) and we've agreed to start with the book of Matthew. I've read the first thirteen chapters, so I'll start this entry with the fourteenth chapter.
14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea
14:26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "it is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.
I wonder if there are times in our lives when Jesus approaches us in a most improbable manner (like walking on water) and we fail to recognize Him like the disciples in verse 26. What would the "unlikely" approach of Jesus look like to us today? Will we hear Him calm us in verse 27: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
We know Peter's response. Why did he respond to Jesus that way? Was it just in his nature to test Jesus by asking Him to prove Himself? Was Peter just anxious to be the first in all things? I don't know Peter's motivation, but I do know that because he asked the Lord to prove that He was who He said He was, that he also walked on water.
Is Jesus standing out in the midst of some storm surround me, willing for me to walk on the water to meet Him? Will I be able to keep my eyes on Jesus and ignore the wind and the waves so I can stay atop the water? Or will I be like Peter and look away from Jesus and find myself drowning in a lack of faith?
I am confident that what is written in the bible is true, accurate, and the inspired Word of God. Whether I can literally walk on water is inconsequential. Can I keep my eyes focused on Jesus in the midst of the storm? Will I recognize Him when He approaches me from the most unlikely of places?
Most days the most difficult storms for me to face are the mundane things: cooking dinner, bath time for the kids, helping Meredith get ready for bed; etc. As events deviate from the norm I feel engulfed by the tempest of anxiety and frustration. I know that I am not on the lookout for Jesus. And even if I were, I imagine that I would be terrified (or angry, even) at the sight of Him that I would cower in fear in my storm-tossed boat without the courage to ask as Peter did, "command me to come to you on the water."
What keeps us in the boat when the safest place to be would be in the arms of Jesus? The appearance that that boat will protect us? The wind and waves between (or around) Jesus and ourselves?
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