Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev Dr Richard Giesken for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Matthew 14:22–33 (NIV)
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Devotional Thought
The challenge of writing a devotional on such a familiar passage of scripture is that we all know the story and what it means. “Step out of the boat. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Don't doubt. Jesus will calm your storms.” But sometimes when we drive a familiar road, we get to our destination without seeing the beauty along the way.
I had not noticed that Jesus "made" the disciples get into the boat and travel to the other side. The disciples are exactly where Jesus has told them to be, yet they still find themselves overwhelmed by wind and waves. When help does appear, it is scarier than the storm! They mistake Jesus for a ghost. Fear has distorted their vision. Sometimes we are so sure what rescue should look like that we fail to recognise the One who comes to meet us.
Only when Jesus speaks do they begin to see clearly: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." The climax of the story is not when the wind stops, but when Jesus is recognised. "Truly you are the Son of God." We often hear those words as a theological statement, but for the disciples they are a response of worship born out of experience. They encounter in Jesus what their Scriptures say only God alone can do. He comes walking on the waters (Job 9:8; Psalm 77:19) and declares, "I am." In Jesus, the living God draws near.
I wonder whether we still struggle to notice him in our storms today.
We pray for God to come, yet sometimes he comes in an interruption, a difficult conversation, an unexpected opportunity, or something more frightening. We are looking for dramatic rescue, but Jesus draws near unexpectedly. Like the disciples, we may fail to notice his presence because it doesn't look the way we thought.
So perhaps the passage is not about having enough faith to walk on water, or to speak peace to the chaos around us, but simply to recognise who Jesus is, and to hear his voice speaking to us above the noise of our storm and fear. When we see him for who he is, fear begins to lose its grip, and worship becomes the most natural response. Not just a song, but a life that gives witness to who he truly is.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, as we turn our gaze upon you, we fall before you in worship. Transform our lives into a living witness to the truth of who you are. Free us from the fear that grips us, that we may boldly testify, "Jesus is Lord." Amen.