When the Bottom Drops Out
Matthew 14: 22-32
DID YOU EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE DAYS when everything seemed to fall apart? For example, you got up and discovered the alarm didn’t go off and your head was pounding as a result of a bad cold. Then you cut yourself shaving, stumbled over your child’s toy on the way to the kitchen and broke one of your toes. The coffee-maker was on the fritz, so you started off to the coffee shop only to discover that your car wouldn’t start because the battery was dead. So you got it jumped only to realize that the heater didn’t work. When you finally got to work an hour late, you remembered it was a holiday and the place was closed!
Did you every have one of those kind of days when nothing seemed to go right? A seven-year-old boy by the name of Steven had one of those days. He went to sleep with gum in his mouth and woke up with it in his hair. When he got out of bed he tripped over his skateboard and cut his lip. Then he dropped his new sweater in the sink while the water was running. In school it was gym day. He hated gym. They chose up sides for a game and he was the last one picked. When he got home for dinner, his mother had cooked lima beans, which he hated. There was lots of kissing on TV and he hated kissing. His bath was too hot. He got soap in his eyes. His favorite marble went down the drain and to add insult to injury, his mom made him wear the pajamas with the little birds on them. He laid in bed and said to himself, “I think I’ll move to Australia.”
In our Scripture passage, the disciples were having one of those kind of days. It had been a long, tiring day of ministry and miracles. Tired, they had set out for the other side of the lake. Suddenly, a storm came up and their lives began falling apart.
What do we do when life deals us tough situations and it seems as if we are coming unraveled? I see five assurances to help us when the bottom drops out.
1. THE LORD BROUGHT THEM THERE
Look at verse 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.”
Jesus knew that the storm was about to strike and He deliberately directed His disciples into it! However, they were safer in the storm within the will of God than on dry ground with the crowd out of His will. But why would Jesus lead them into a storm? The Bible indicates that there are three primary kinds of storms that come to us from our God:
(1) Storms of correction—to awaken, to discipline, to get our attention.
(2) Storms of perfection—to build character in us, to deepen our faith and make us more sensitive to the suffering of others.
(3) Storms of reproduction—to cause others to imitate our response to suffering or to choose our Christ.
Illustration: “Lesson from Golf Balls”
When they first manufactured golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then they discovered that after a ball had been roughed up one could get more distance out of it. So they started manufacturing them with dimpled covers. So it is with life; it takes some rough spots to make us go the farthest.
There is no oil without squeezing,
No wine without pressing the grapes,
No fragrance without crushing the flowers
And no real joy without sorrow.
So if you’re going through a storm and if the bottom seems to be dropping out, consider that the storm may be in God’s will for you.
2. JESUS PRAYED FOR HIS FOLLOWERS
Verse 23: “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Sometimes when things are going bad we are tempted to think that God has deserted us. Where is God when we’re rowing against the wind? Why, He’s praying for us. He has never lost touch with our situation. What a comfort that is. What a comfort indeed!
Jesus knows what it is to suffer. The human side of Him experienced more pain than we’ll ever understand. The writer to Hebrews captured the essence of this truth: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.”
On the basis of Luke 22:31,32 we can safely assume that His prayer consists of at least the following: (1) that our faith won’t fail, (2) that we won’t give up, (3) that we won’t turn back. This is love on its Knees. The thought that Jesus cares enough to give Himself to prayer on our behalf is humbling, say nothing of inspiring. We dare not stop; we cannot quit!
3. THE LORD CAME TO HIS OWN
Verses 24-27 tell us much about the presence of God: “But the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the winds were against it. During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”
You have to admire these disciples. They could have turned around and headed back to shore. They had been out there for nine hours. They were tired, wet, and cold—just trying to hang on.
Its midnight and still no Jesus. Suddenly they see Him—walking, instead of riding. At first they don’t recognize Him. Why not? Perhaps they are too busy complaining or fighting the storm in their own strength. Could it be that they are just not looking for Him? This gives rise to a most important truth: THE LORD ALWAYS COMES TO US IN OUR DARKEST HOUR. For example, someone knocks on our door with a meal; an encouraging note or card comes in the mail at just the right time; a friend telephones us saying that he’s praying for us; while in a worship service, something in the message or in a song touches us and we feel strengthened. In each case, it is Jesus coming to us.
One sat alone beside the highway begging,
His eyes were blind, the light he could not see;
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows,
Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee
When Jesus comes the tempter’s power is broken;
When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away,
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.
4. JESUS HELPS US GROW THROUGH TRIALS
In verses 29 and 30 we read, “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” This is a picture of divine love and power meeting human need. Anyone can sit in a boat and watch, but it takes a person of real faith to leave the boat and walk on water.
Here are four principles for water-walkers:
(1) Don’t listen to the people in the boat (nay-sayers)
(2) Don’t look at the waves (circumstances)
(3) Don’t look down at your feet (self)
(4) Keep your eyes on Jesus!
Illustration: “Smoke Signal”
The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small uninhabited island. He cried out to God to save him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a rough hut and put his few possessions in it. But then one day, after hunting for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; he was stung with grief.Early the next day, though, a ship drew near the island and rescued him. “How did you know I was here?” he asked the crew. We saw your smoke signal,” they replied. Though it may not seem so now, your present difficulty may be instrumental to your future happiness.
John Yates, Falls Church, Virginia, quoted in Leadership, Winter Quarter, 1992, p. 57
5. JESUS WILL EVENTUALLY BRING PEACE
Verses 31-33: “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.”
Notice the progression of events here:
Jesus caught the sinking Peter
They walked to the boat together
Jesus climbed into their boat and with Him came the calm they were looking for
Little wonder that they worshipped Him
AN ARMY OFFICER WAS SENT TO TIBET on a dangerous mission. He carried two things along with him that gave him courage: (1) the knowledge that he had not undertaken the journey on his own but had been sent by a power for a sound reason, (2) if he got into a tight place, his government would use all its resources to see him through safely. These re the same assurances that God gives to all of us. He has placed us here for a good reason and promises to use all of His resources to help us our of any “tight spots” that may arise.
My job is gone, my shoes are worn; I live on beans and rice.
The government won’t help me, I’ve asked them more than twice.
My state is going broke; my boy has been arrested;
they caught him sniffing coke.
My wife has up and left me, my son resides in jail
The bank in which I own some stock will be the next to fail.
My pants are getting shabby and bagging at the knees,
I can’t afford a bar of soap to wash my BVD’s.
My daughter says she’s pregnant, but doesn’t know the guy.
My cotton’s full of weevils and my cow is going dry.
My hens have all stopped laying—I can’t afford their mash,
My checks are quickly bouncing, and the stores insist on cash.
I asked the priest to help me, while making my confession,
He blamed it on the Protestants for causing this recession.
And so I turn to you, my friend, before I go to ruin;
My only source of good advice is Abail Van Buren.
The above, of course is a tongue-in-cheek letter written to the columnist, but it does point out the apparent weakness of failing to recognize the true Source of strength in the time of difficulty. Jesus brings peace to the heart that fully trusts in Him, regardless of the situation.
CONCLUSION
The next time you have on of those days, or weeks, or months, or years when the bottom seems to be dropping out, just remember to turn to this passage in Matthew 14 and it will hold you steady as you see there again these five amazing truths:
The Lord brought me here
He is praying for me
He will come to me
He will help me to grow through this
He will see me through
