The Storms of Life and the Saviour that Brings Life
Scriptural Keys from Matthew 14
Introduction
This particular day was a gruelling day for Jesus and his disciples. John the Baptist was just beheaded and as the news reached Jesus, he had hoped to immerse himself in private prayer but the multitude wanted his attention; he had to perform the miracle of feeding the five thousand with fish and loaves. The disciples had been ministering all day, they were tired, exhausted and frustrated, a short trip in the boat ended up taking over nine hours with the wind blowing against boat and the storm raging most of the night. What do you do at a time like this when there is frustration, tiredness and hopelessness? What do you do when the storms of life rage relentlessly against your health, your finances, and your children? Today, we will consider some scriptural keys from the events of Matthew 14, starting from verse 25:
Key #1 Seeking advice from fellow boat people may reverse your advance (v25-27)
Who are fellow boat people? Those mates you often turn to for advice are the fellow boat people. These are the people you quickly pick the phone to call, those with whom you have endless conversations about everything and about nothing. But the advice they give may not be the best. I am very certain that the Bible did not produce a full record of the words that was spoken in the conversation between the disciples and Peter, or between Peter and Jesus. John 21:25 says if all the activities of Christ were recorded, even the whole world would not contain them. Many if not of the other 11 disciples would have strongly advised Peter not to leave the boat, and even when he jumped into the water, others would be asking him to immediately retrace his steps, while some would have written him off as a suicide case.
The advice of fellow boat people will likely fall in one or more of the three categories below:
1) Those of mates, who like Joseph’s brothers, will put you down without giving you any chance of success
2) Those who will say nothing good can come out of you. Remember how Nathaniel dismissed Jesus when Phillip told him that they have found Jesus of Nazareth, the one Moses and the prophets talked about? Can anything good come out of Nazareth was Nathaniel’s derisive remark. That wasn’t too dissimilar to what people said about Albert Einstein when he was young. Einstein was born with an unusually large head that gave his mother considerable concern. She thought he was deformed. He was slow of speech, only able to speak coherently at the age of nine. He failed the university entrance examination, only passing maths and science, so he had to settle for trade school before eventually gaining admission into the university. Yet, this man that started off so poorly, this man that the world had written off propounded one of the ground breaking theories of all times, the theory of relativity.
3) The third category of advice from fellow boat people will be plain unintelligent advice; the sort of Counsel Job’s three friends gave him. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar approached Job to mourn with him and to comfort him (Job 2:11) but later accused him of being a fool for trusting God. Eliphaz even accused him of spiritual arrogance: What do you know that we don’t know…what do you understand that is not in us? (Job 15: 9) Reliance on friends to protect, counsel, guide or direct you may lead you in the wrong direction.
Key # 2 Jesus’ Command is always accompanied by His compassion (v.28-29a)
There are two things that I will like to point out here:
1) Peter waited for the Lord’s say so before jumping out of the boat, the same way David enquired from God whether he could pursue the Amalekites before going after them. (1 Sam 30) Peter attempted the impossible only after the Lord told him so (v28). That is why the Bible says in all your ways ask him and he will make your paths straight. (Pro 3:6) Lean not on your own understanding. (Pro 3:5) In other words, do not attempt the impossible in your strength.
2) Peter walked on water towards Jesus not in any other direction. What do you think may have happened if he had walked away from him, going in the opposite direction or if he had tried to take another route to reach Jesus? Simple, he would have gone under! What do we do when life’s thunderstorms and hurricanes start to billow, do we walk towards Jesus or do we withdraw from fellowshipping with the saints, blame God and turn our back to him? Do we turn our personal challenges into a weapon against God, and begin to doubt him and begin to question his love and his ways? If Jesus says come, his compassion is already available to you to fulfil his command.
Key # 3 Failure is not an event; it is how you react to events (v.29b)
The fear of failing leads to failure. There is a difference between failure and setback. Setback is not succeeding for the first couple of times but success often comes after setback or a series of setbacks. Failure is often about failing to try that is why the Bible says many are the afflictions of the righteous… (Psa 34:19) Brethren, staying in the boat will yield you nothing. To gain victory you have to go to the battle front, to win a race you have to run a race. I urge you today to take a step of faith. Snuggling up in the boat will do you no good; it will leave you with dormant gifts. We may criticise Peter for sinking, but he at least got out of his comfort zone and walked on water further than anybody else in history except Jesus. But he first got out of the boat.
Cast a quick look on your life. Does it resemble a trip on the boat? You start rowing, with a clear destination in mind, and a defined timeframe. The wind constantly works against the boat, progress becomes more difficult, the weather becomes more inclement, the waves of life wear you out; the vicissitudes of life clog your wheels. You set your minds on getting married, having children, retiring at a particular age, going on holidays, and many other things - but the blustery weather of nature and the waves of life slow you down to a crawl. You get exhausted as you strive to reach your destination. Before you know it, you discover that you have ended up in the middle of a lake.
Reflect on this for a few moments. What is your dream? There are situations which are working against your dream, but I urge you today in the name of the Lord, to follow your dream. Who would’ve thought Joseph would end up in the prime minister’s position when brothers terrorised him? The Lord was able to lift Joseph out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; and set his feet on a rock and gave him a firm place to stand (Psalm 40:2) That is why the Bible in Proverbs 16:9 says in his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps. God wants you to succeed but he can only direct the steps that you take, if you take no steps, he won’t have anything to direct. God will never leave nor forsake you (Deu 31:6) and just as he showed up to the disciples in the middle of the lake, he will show up to change the course of your life. Remember, there can be no oil without the squeezing of olives, no wine without the pressing of grapes, no fragrance without the crushing of flowers, no deliverance without the crossing of the red sea and no fresh water from under the ground without digging.
Key # 4 Fixation with your feet may lead to a fall (v29-30)
Peter initially didn’t look at his feet. What represents your feet? Self limitations. There was a King in 1 Kings 13 known as Jehoash, who approached Prophet Elisha for help. The prophet asked him to strike an arrow on the ground, he could have stuck the ground 100 times, but he did it only three times. Elisha said if he had done it 5 or 6 times, he could have defeated his enemies permanently, but that he would only defeat them three times. That is the danger in limiting what God can do in your life. (2 Kings 13: 14-20)
Do you recall that 11 of the 12 spies sent to spy the Promised Land submitted a negative report? Yes, they said, it does flow with milk and honey, yes, the land is good, yes, the land is fertile, and as evidence they even brought a fruit from Canaan. But, they concluded, it is not possible to possess the land because its inhabitants are very powerful, the cities are fortified and they saw themselves as grasshoppers compared to the giants from the tribe of Anak. But thank God for Caleb (Num 13:30) who knew that with God on their side, they could attain the impossible.
Key # 5 Waive away the waves: (30-32)
In other words, do not focus on the waves. The circumstances represent the waves. When Peter stepped into the water, he didn’t ask Jesus for details. If it were you, you would probably ask Jesus to tell you what exactly you needed to do and how to do it. Initially, Peter didn’t let his mind and attitude dwell on the circumstances. Circumstances are never right; there is always some reason why u should not attempt to do what you should do. As long as Simon kept his eyes on Jesus he kept on walking. Note that the wind had been strong most of the night; it wasn’t as if the wind became strong as soon as he stepped on the sea.
Key # 6 Trust his voice even when you don’t trust your vision (v26-27)
The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost when they saw him working on water, but immediately he spoke to them: It is I, do not be afraid. God’s voice is superior to your vision. The picture on television frightens, it discourages. What you see with your optic nerves matters not, but what you hear from the Lord. Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds (Isa 3:10). In verse 22 of Mathew 14, the Bible says Jesus made the disciples go ahead of him. If he made you do something, he will not leave you in a limbo. Jesus asked them to go ahead of him. Trust him to show up if he is the one that sent u out in the first instance. In verse 25, went to them, he made true his word. You need to hold fast the confession of your faith without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Heb 10:23). God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind, has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not make it good? (Num 23:19)
Conclusion
The delay you have been experiencing may be deliberate. The Bible says Jesus went back to the disciples during the fourth watch, which was almost daybreak (fourth watch is between the hours of three and six). It was the time when all hope had almost evaporated, a time of falling strength, exhaustion, tiredness and exhaustion. But Jesus eventually appeared didn’t he? Does it appear that he has abandoned you? That is what the devil wants you to think!
Let me end today with the ‘Smoke Signal’ illustration: there was the story of a man that was the sole survivor of a wreck who found himself in an uninhabited island. He was able to build himself a hut, in which he placed the little that he had saved from the ship. He prayed to God for deliverance and anxiously scanned the horizon each day to hail any passing ship. On returning from a hunt for food on this particular day, he met his hut in flames. All he had was burnt! The worst had happened, he thought; but that which seemed to have happened for the worst was in reality for the best. To his limited vision it was the worst. To God's infinite wisdom it was the best for which he had prayed. The following morning, a ship arrived. "We saw your smoke signal," the captain said. God had not forgotten him, and the same God, will also remember you today!
