The other night we had a particularly bad thunderstorm- the kind that sends lightening flashing all around, gusting high winds, with peals of thunder that nearly knock you out of the bed.
I especially fear tornados, and this being a very strong tornado season I leaped out of bed and looked out of the window to gaze at the sky.
Your imagination can run wild with you, especially late at night in a storm.
After a horrific flash of lightening I thought I had seen a funnel cloud silhouetted against the grey backdrop of a thundercloud.
Before I could say anything about it, my nearly grown children were up and coming into the room like they did when they were small children.
“We just wanted to see if you were all right,” one of them said.
I chuckled at the remark.
But there is something about a storm that causes people who are close to want to be together.
If not, they should.
No one should have to go through a storm alone.
Jesus’ disciples were all in the same boat the day a terrible storm hit the sea of Galilee. They were out in the middle of it. Even the most seasoned sailors among them, Peter, James, and John, were terrified. If they were not terrified of the waves and the wind, they were terrified by a lone figure walking out on the tumultuous seas toward them. They did not recognize that it was Jesus approaching. They cried out, “It is a ghost!”
“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27
There is something about someone you love coming to you in the midst of your storm to tell you they are there. They really do not have to say much- just their reassuring presence or the touch of their arm is all it takes to maybe not to calm the seas, but at least to calm the nerves.
Perhaps there is a storm brewing right now in your life. The weather forecaster could not have predicted it, yet still it is there and it threatens to overwhelm you. A funnel cloud of depression swoops down to suck out every trickle of vitality left in you. When you go through the storm, all looks dark until you look out on the horizon. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, an unrecognizable figure appears as you say, “God, where are you when I need you?!” In your prayers that figure comes into clearer focus. It is Jesus- right there, right now, reaching out His hand for you.
Peter knew that hand was real when he stepped out onto the waves and walked toward his Master who had called out for him. However, when Peter lost his focus and started looking at the waves, he began to sink crying out, “Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:29-30. We criticize Peter for his lack of faith, but he showed more courage and faith than the others by getting out of the boat and walking on the waves. Still, it is easy in the flesh to doubt the presence of the Lord because we are so easily moved by the things around us we forget Jesus is there, reaching out to us the entire time in the storm. It is not that Jesus has not reached out to us- we do not reach out to Him.
Do you feel like you are sinking beneath the waves today? Reach out to Jesus and take hold of His hand.
Have a blessed day!
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