jesus made them

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to know that even in the storms of life, you are still at work, accomplishing your purposes, both in and through us.  Thank you.  Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

Journal: Why do you think Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, even he knew exactly what he was sending them into?  What do you think he was trying to accomplish?  When is the last time Jesus showed up in the midst of one of your “storms?”  How did it change you?

Reflection: “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of them to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.” (Matthew 14:22)

Did you catch that?  Jesus made the disciples get into the boat.  He knew full well exactly what he was sending them into and yet he made them get in the boat—without him—and head to the other side.  He was totally aware that he was sending them into the middle of a huge storm.  Why on earth would he do such a thing?  Maybe because he was trying to accomplish something in them. 

It was done both intentionally and purposefully.  He didn’t see them as he watched from the mountainside and think to himself, “Oh dang!  I didn’t see that coming.”  No, he was actually trying to accomplish something in them that could be accomplished no other way.  He was leading them beyond where they were.  Jesus always calls each one of us beyond where we are.  He sent them into the storm so they would come out knowing him better.  He sent them into the storm so that at the end of the whole episode they would be standing in awe with their mouths wide open saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

A wise saint once said that “There is an intent of God behind the content of life.”  The painful content of this life all entered the world as a result of the fall: storms, floods, hurricanes, death, disease, diagnoses, violence, abuse, addiction, depression, anxiety, and fear.  The list goes on and on.  Jesus did not create the storm, he just sent them into it.  He used the storm to give them a bigger picture of who he was.  He is big enough even to use life’s most brutal and evil content, to accomplish his intent, both in and through us.  He uses it to invite us to a deeper and more beautiful life with and for him. 

It happened with the disciples, and my guess is that it has happened with you.  When’s the last time God sent you into a massive storm just so you would see and know how big and awesome and wonderful and loving and powerful he really is?  When was the last time you stood in awe saying to yourself, “Truly you are the Son of God”?   

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, truly you are the Son of God!