It's December. It's 30° right now - actually, that number hasn't budged all day (we could almost get snow!). Candles and coffee and no-homework afternoons are all good.
The no-homework afternoon is actually why I'm here, finally writing a post that has been churning in my mind for a few weeks.
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It's one of my favorite stories in the gospels (Matthew 14):
Boisterous waves, a small fishing boat, a group of terrified fishermen - and the power of a God perfectly in control.
Earlier in the day, the disciples had witnessed one of Jesus' most well-known miracles: the feeding of 5,000+ people. It was an incredible display of creative power. Only God could provide ample food for all those people from a little boy's lunch. That evening, Jesus sent the disciples in a boat to cross the lake. They found themselves in the middle of the lake when a terrific storm arose and they became greatly afraid. And then...Jesus came towards them, walking on the water. They thought He was a ghost. "It is I; do not be afraid," He assured them. (Should it have been surprising to them that the God who fed all those people less than 24 hours before was also stronger than this storm?)
The sight of Jesus sparked something in Peter, who called out from the familiarity (and relative "safety") of the fishing boat, "Lord, if it's really You, ask me to come to You on the water!" At Jesus' invitation, he climbed over the side of the boat and started walking. [That takes guts! I've been canoeing on the lake here at the training center, and believe me, I would not EVER step out of that boat. Especially not in a storm!] But Peter quickly lost his courage when he saw the waves. He lost his focus, and therefore, his footing. As he began sinking, he cried out in desperation, "Lord, save me!"
Next comes that beautiful little word immediately. I'm not sure I gave it much notice until I read through this story just a few weeks ago. Isn't it wonderful, though, how Jesus responded? He didn't frantically scramble over to where Peter was sinking. He was just instantly there, and He "reached out His hand and caught him" (vs. 31). He had perfect peace, perfect control over the situation.
Sometimes raw courage collides with the reality of life's storms. It seems our human perspectives are drawn to the storm like a magnet, and pretty soon, all we see are the waves. We can't seem to look past our circumstances and see that our Heavenly Father is right there with us. We forget He is still in control, that He is both able and willing to reach out and pull us up.
Yes, I've found myself exactly where Peter was - on numerous occasions this semester. Confronted by things quite impossible for me to handle. Staring at assignments thinking, "There's just no way I can do this." Wondering how on earth I'm going to get through another week - or another day - of this. Overwhelmed by what one of my teachers calls "the weight of my not-enough-ness".
I'll guess that you've also found yourself there at one point or another.
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We learn more from this story then just God's incredible power. We also see His patience and His compassion even when Peter (and the rest of the disciples) showed an inexcusable lack of trust. That's comforting, isn't it?
And the coolest thing is, Peter's God is MY God. He hasn't changed one tiny bit since then. I may not be a fisherman on a lake in the middle of a storm, but God is still God, and He still works miracles. He's still way bigger than anything that comes my way. Or yours.
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