Learning From Our Trials (III)
Have you ever been in a situation that seems hopelessly over your head? One that no matter what you do you simply can’t get out of? Or perhaps there is an issue in your life that seems like no matter what you try, you can’t get out of? If you have been following along with our posts regarding why we face trials, you should know that sometimes trials come so that we can help others. We may also face trials because God has allowed them even when we have done nothing to merit it In some instances, like Job, we may never know why we go through these trials. Joseph was someone who faced trials due to jealousy of others which lead to the saving of a nation, Job was a righteous man that the Bible never tells us if he was ever made aware of the reasoning behind his trials and tribulations. He never knew Satan himself was in fact the originator of his challenges. The commonality between these two men is that they both gave their situations up to God, and through His will both men prospered.
The passage that we are going to look at today shows what happens to those who do not turn to God when they face a situation that is beyond them.
“22 Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!””
Matthew 14:22-33
This passage occurs after the feeding of the five thousand, this number was just the men it does not include the women and children there as well. The disciples had quite literally seen Jesus feed this large crowd from five loaves of bread and two fish. Anyone who has ever hosted even a small gathering would know that five loaves of bread and two fish would not be enough, and yet Jesus was not only able to satisfy the gathering but there was enough left over to fill twelve full baskets. Despite seeing this, they still doubted that God would be able to do the impossible. So when they were in the boat in the middle of the storm, they were taken by surprise to see a man walking on the water. Not believing that Jesus was able to do the impossible, the disciples could only understand what they were seeing as that of a ghost.
However, Jesus called out to them and upon recognizing His voice, even though he still could not believe his eyes, Peter called back to Him. With faith Peter took that first step out into the waters and by faith began to walk towards Christ. He did not make it far however, when Peter became aware of the wind and the waves his faith wavered and he began to sink. Calling out to the Lord, Jesus immediately came to him but still admonished Peter for his lack of faith.
This scenario still applies to us today. While we may not be asked to walk on water in the middle of a storm, we do face challenges that will either cause us to keep our focus on Christ or to sink. Most Christians today have a tendency to believe that their problems are either too big or not important enough for God to handle. We want to handle it on our own. This mentality places the issue on the shoulders of the individual instead of where it should be. The truth of the matter is, there is nothing that God cannot handle. He has already won every challenge that we face by His actions on the cross.
When we compare our responses to challenges with that of Peter walking on water, we can see two unique points. The first is that when he stepped out of the boat Peter had the faith that he would be able to walk across and reach Jesus, he had no doubt that God would allow him to be victorious in this impossible situation. The second is that when Peter got distracted by the waves and wind, he lost sight of Christ and began to sink. For us today, when we come to God with every situation we face we need to have the faith that He will pull us through it. When we try to succeed on our own we will sink, and it is only when we cry out to the Lord will we be saved. Peter was only able to walk on water because he had placed his trust in the Lord. This is what we must do with every challenge we face, when we get distracted by the fears and worries of this world (the wind and waves) then we take our eyes off of Christ. When we give every situation over to the Lord we recognize our own inability to handle the challenges, instead we recognize that God can handle the impossible. When we doubt that He can handle any situation, we will only ever sink.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex