I’ve discovered one thing about life. If I’m in a calm season where all is going well, I need to enjoy it because…well, tomorrow is a new day. Right? Jesus surely meant it when he said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” Did I just hear an amen?
Sometimes I get hooked on a Bible story where all I want to do is dig deeper, read more commentaries, and gather more insightful information. I’m hooked right now in Matthew 14. Oh, please let me share!
What would you feel like if you were one of the disciples and had just witnessed Jesus take five loaves and two fish and multiply them to feed 5,000 men, plus the women and children in the crowd? Likely that meant the feast fed between 15,000 and 25,000 people! I would have been PUMPED! I would have wanted to stay there waiting for the next great miracle.
But Jesus does something unexpected. He immediately sends the disciples out on the Sea of Galilee in their boat. About this time, I can imagine the brash disciple Peter protesting with, “But Lord! These people love you! Let’s stay here for a while.” But NO! Jesus sent them out to sea—no evening stroll on the beach by the moonlight for them but rather what would soon become a tumultuous boat ride into the storm’s fury. A collision with nature. A violent tempest where they’d scream and bob up and down like a cork, fearing for their very lives.
And where was Jesus all this time? He was on the mountaintop by now… alone… praying. Praying for what?
I imagine Jesus’ eyes were glued on the disciples. He was praying they would pass the test of faith sent to them by Jesus’ Heavenly Father. They had only known the Jesus who performed miracles, the One who said for the little children to come to Him, and the One who healed the sick. But they had never learned to recognize Jesus IN THE STORM, where spiritual growth and maturity comes forth. If you asked the disciples, they would have said they knew Jesus well—really well. But how could they? They had never experienced His power and presence in the tempest of life.
Friend, are you feeling driven and tossed by your circumstances? Drifting farther and farther into unsafe waters? Uncertain about what’s ahead? Then I invite you to join me as I lead our new four-week, online video Bible study called Anchored: Hope for the Soul. Each 10-minute video lesson is accompanied with downloadable study questions to help you delve into God’s Word and apply biblical principles to your situation. We’ll send you each week’s lesson for FREE.
Why be seasick when storms hit when Jesus has provided a way for us to be ANCHORED and secure in Him? Let’s learn together about being anchored to THE ANCHOR.
https://arisesinglemoms.com/bible-study
About Pam Kanaly
Aloha! I’m Pam Kanaly, President and co-founder of Arise Ministries. But actually, I think Arise found me wanting to bless single moms years ago. Ministry was never on my mind as a kid. All I wanted to be was a hula dancer. So Mother enrolled me in the tiny tots’ class. Guess God knew I’d have two grandbabies born in Hawaii. I love the great outdoors. You might even find me spending time with my husband grizzly bear watching or camping. In fact, it was on a turkey hunt that God gave me the name Arise Ministries in 2002. I suppose it’s a good thing that I majored in Grammar in college since I love to write words of encouragement to single moms.