August 20, 2020

Today’s reading Matthew 14:22-36

Last time I got to share with you we started talking about the role Jesus plays in the “storms of life” in particular the storms of perfection, the storms that come even when I’m doing the will of God.
Day 1 He brought me here (verse 22)
Day 2 He is praying for me (verse 23)

-Day 3 He will come to me (verse 25)-
Sometimes when we are going through difficult times we feel like God is far away, like He has abandoned us don’t we? We’re not alone in that feeling. David in the Psalms on more than one occasion says God seemed far away and unconcerned. Even the apostle Paul felt that way (2 Corinthians 1:8) Jesus has promised that He would come to us in the storms of life (Isaiah 43:2) He may not come at the moment we think He should, but He knows when we need Him most. He waited in the disciples case until the storm was really bad, until the ship was far away from land. He wanted their faith to grow.
Why didn’t they recognize Jesus on the water? I’ve always kind of wondered that, then it hit me. They weren’t looking for Him. Had they been waiting by faith they would’ve known Him immediately. Instead their fear took over and they immediately thought “that’s a ghost” Wow do you see the difference in fear and faith? Warren Wiersbe said “Fear and faith cannot live in the same heart, for fear always blinds the eyes to the presence of the Lord.”
Often we fear life’s difficult moments and “storms” but we can take comfort in the fact that these moments bring Jesus closer to us.

Frank Newsome