Sent Into The Storm
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, quiet my heart and open my eyes to see You in the middle of whatever wind is blowing in my life. Help me hear Your voice above the noise. Amen.
Jesus had just fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Immediately afterward, He sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee while He went up on a mountainside to pray.
“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.” Matthew 14:22-24 (NIV)
REFLECT:
It is easy to assume that when life gets hard, we must have done something wrong. But look closely at the first sentence of this passage. Jesus “made” the disciples get into the boat. As Pastor Todd pointed out this weekend, the word could also be translated “compelled.” This was not a suggestion. The disciples were exactly where Jesus told them to be, and still the wind was in their faces and the waves pounded their boat.
There is real freedom in that truth. Sometimes the wind and the waves come not because we disobeyed God, but precisely because we obeyed Him. You may be taking hard steps of faith right now and still find yourself facing a strained marriage, a health struggle, or a child making choices that break your heart. You are rowing as hard as you can, and the boat of your life does not seem to be going where it is supposed to go.
But the storm is never the whole story. The same Jesus who sent His disciples into the boat never stopped paying attention to them. Obedience does not guarantee calm seas, but it does place you right where Jesus will meet you. Keep rowing. Keep obeying. He is not finished with this story.
APPLY:
Name the storm you are rowing through right now. Write it down, and next to it, write one way you have been obedient to God in that situation. Thank Him that your obedience matters to Him, even if the waves have not stopped yet.
I WILL STATEMENT:
I will trust Jesus to take a step out of the boat.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Father, thank You that hard seasons do not mean You have left me. Help me keep rowing in obedience and trust that You are near. When You call, give me the courage to take a step out of the boat. In Jesus’ name, amen.
PRAYER REQUEST:
Share your prayer request and pray for others.