Jesus
got into a boat, and his followers
went
with him. A great storm arose on
the
lake so that waves covered the boat,
but
Jesus was sleeping.
Matthew 8:23-24
Has Jesus ever failed to meet your
expectations? His disciples believed He would be crowned king, sit on a throne
and rule the land. I feel positive they also believed that as faithful
followers, they would rule with Jesus. They expected a war against Herod. They
expected victory over Roman rule. They got neither!
I like the way Max Lucado explains this in
his book entitled In the Eye of the Storm. “Instead of weapons, they got
oars. Rather than being sent to fight, they were sent to float. The crowds were
sent away. Jesus walked away. And they were left on the water with a storm
brewing in the sky.”
Jesus sent the disciples to the other side
of the lake while He went up the mountainside to pray. He knew the storm was
coming, yet he sent his disciples away; alone.
Like the disciples, I too have been in the
eye of the storm wondering if Jesus would save me. Hoping that He stood close
by; watching. Hoping that I would not drown in my sorrow before He reached His
hand and pulled me to safety; wondering. During that time, I realized that my
crisis was not the storm raging around me but the fear and anxiety raging in my
heart.
Then one day, Jesus came walking on the
water of my storm, spoke peace be still and calmed my troubled soul. Perfect
timing! Just when I knew that I was not going to make it through the storm, the
one who stores up the lightening and gathers the storm clouds, who bottles the
winds and calms the waters came and spoke peace to my fearful anxious heart.
The crisis remained, but the storm was over!
I, like the disciples, thought I was alone
in the storm. But just as the disciples experienced, I found that in Christ I
am never alone. Jesus used the crisis of my storm to remind me of His love,
grace and mercy.
If you are in the eye of the storm today,
do not fear. Jesus is close by— walking on the water. You are not alone in your
storm.
©JP
2013
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