Have you ever been in the midst of a raging storm? Recently, we were discussing with some friends Hurricane Hugo that hit South Carolina in 1989. That storm was powerful and caused a lot of damage to our state. Thankfully, we haven't experienced anything of that magnitude since then.
In the midst of the storm Jesus is with us. We can all recall storms in our lives. Maybe you feel like you’re in the middle of one now, or maybe you just weathered one and are on the other side. But we’ve all been there. In Matthew 14:22-33, we are reminded that in the midst of the storm, Jesus is with us. Also, we see entire time Jesus never left Peter’s side.
A couple of things to remember:
1. God is in control.
We see in the passage above that Jesus sent the disciples out to sea before he went up to the mountain to pray. The trip they were making was about 5 miles. They left in the evening, but Jesus didn’t come to them until very early morning. That means they were out on the sea for quite a long time—longer than they had expected to be, but they made no progress because of the storm. This trip had become much more complicated than they thought it would be. They were terrified. The storm was out of their control. However, God knew what was going to happen before they stepped into the boat. That means he knew how it was going to end as well. The storm didn’t surprise Him. He was completely in control of the situation, so it’s important to know that Jesus didn't send them into the storm to punish them.
God is powerful enough to use the brokenness of storms in our lives to show us Himself! Look for Jesus and keep looking to Jesus. Although a storm surrounded Him, Peter looked to Jesus. The only problem was that he stopped looking at Jesus. The principle is clear: especially when life is a tumultuous storm, look for Jesus and keep looking to Jesus.
What does looking to Jesus look like for you? Do we look to Him only when we are sinking?
2. God loves you.
The first words Jesus says to the disciples when he comes to them in the storm are, “Do not be afraid.” This is what we say to people we love because we don’t want them to live in fear. We see throughout scripture that Jesus is consistently loving and gracious towards the disciples despite the fact that they got things wrong a lot and didn’t deserve it. Sounds a lot like us, but through the storms and the sin and getting it wrong often, we are still so loved by God. When Jesus commands you, obey Him.
Jesus told Peter to “come” to Him on the water. Even though it made no sense, Peter did what Jesus said. This is what obedience looks like–doing what Jesus says. Is there any area in your life that you are not obeying the Lord? In the scripture above we see Peter walk out onto the water. When he takes his eyes off Jesus, he starts to sink. He gets distracted by all that is going on around him. Peter gets distracted by the obvious stuff. The thunder booms, the lightning cracks, the wind whips, and the waves pound. It's easy to see why he gets distracted. He's afraid. The wind, lightening, rain, this is all what Peter was focusing on, not Jesus. He cries out, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus does because he’s Jesus, and he’s patient and gracious and loves Peter like he loves you and I. In verse 31, Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” He doesn't say this to call Peter out or to shame him. Instead, he’s saying it with love in his eyes, wanting to reassure him that he never needs to doubt—that He loves him and will never fail him.
When our problems distract us from Jesus, we turn from the greatest power there is to a lesser power. John writes in I John 4:4, "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." If we focus on the problems then we will lose sight of the One greater than anything.
3.God is faithful.
In this story, we don’t see Jesus make Peter try harder to stop sinking in the middle of the storm. Instead, he immediately reached out his hand to save him. Sometimes Jesus does not remove the problems of life, but He shows up and walks with you through them. We learned that what’s important is the object of our faith, Christ. If your eyes are on the wind, you will fall…But when your eyes are on Christ, when the all-sovereign, gracious, loving, merciful Savior and King of creation is the focus of your faith, you can always rest secure. Your faith will be constant, because Christ is constant.” When the storms of life come, how long will you wait till you call on Jesus? Faith unleashes the supernatural. Peter did not experience the supernatural power of God that allowed him to walk on water until he trusted as evidenced by his actions. Is there anything you need to be doing differently in faith?
We just have to trust and keep our eyes on the Lord. We see that when we encounter God and his truth, it leads to worship. Despite the storm and the struggles, we can know God is in control. Fear will sink you. When Peter had faith, he walked on water. When he had fear, he sank in the water. The same is true for you. Fear will sink you. Is there any fear that is gripping and controlling your decision making? We need to remember, He loves us. He is faithful and for us, and this leads us to worship in His unexplainable peace in the midst of chaos.
A few practical steps to keep your eyes on Jesus:
1. It goes without saying that you should begin your day with God. When you do, you’ll find that your day goes much better than when you miss out on that time with Him. Besides, you have too much to do not to spend time with Him. You need Him!
2. Begin each day with an attitude of thanksgiving and prayer. This will help keep you focused on God.
3. When you “find” more time by getting rid of distractions around you, why not spend this time in the Word of God? Find the promises of God that speak of what He will do for you and stand on them. This will help you to keep your eyes on Jesus and stay focused on God.
4. Remember who you are in Christ. Your identity is who God says you and not what the world teaches.
5. Focus on being Christ-like rather than doing what everyone else is doing. In other words, don’t follow the crowd as you strive to keep your eyes on Jesus.
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