I love how God will reveal Himself more and more as we continue to read His Word. Sometimes I will have read a portion of Scripture multiple times before, but I love how God will show me something new. :)
This morning as I was reading in Matthew, I was reading the section in chapter 14 where Jesus was walking on water. Peter asked Him, if it was really Jesus, to tell him to get out of the boat and walk to Him. Jesus told Peter to come and he was fine until he saw the wind, became afraid, and began to sink. Of course, Jesus rescued Peter and took him to the boat. What I never really noticed before was verse 32 “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” I guess in my minds eye, once Jesus took Peter by the hand, the storm stopped. In reality, it continued to storm but Peter was safe with Jesus in the midst of the storm. The wind didn’t stop until they got into the boat.
Just a little further, in chapter 16, verse 24, “Jesus told His disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
I tend to like to imagine a “Disney” type of world. You know the one, where everyone is really nice. (It is a small world after all.) :) A world where we’re all here for fun and to be happy. (I like happy.) However, that is not real life. We live in a fallen world. Storms come. Really hard things happen; things that take our breath away and make us weep. Jesus knows. He’s in the midst of the storm with us. He will be with us and save us, but that doesn’t mean that the storm will immediately stop. He’s promised us as His followers that we will have trouble. (“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33) As His followers we are to take up our crosses and follow Him. We are to die to ourselves (again and again, -it seems I keep trying to go my own way). The storms will assuredly come, but when we seek Jesus and look to Him, He will hold our hand in the midst of the storms. He asks us to follow Him. He’s gone before us and will sustain us. He will use us. What a promise from such a precious Savior who bought our salvation with His own blood.
Hold His hand in the storms.
2 comments:
Tina that is absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing that. Often times this old world (me being a part of it) has it backwards. We think that is we go through storms that God has forsaken us, but it is just the opposite. He is more present through those storms that ever before. We just have to reach out to him, and you know what, we do not have to reach far at all either. :)
I loved this! He is holding my hand in my storm. He is by me. I never feel as close to him as I do in a storm, because that is when I suck myself to his side.
I just love Him, don't you?
Post a Comment