“About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.” – Mark 6:48 (NLT)
When you look up, hope is reborn. Even though the storm may be great, it’s not greater than God. All you have to do is look for Him and trust that He’ll do whatever it takes—even walk on water—to get to you.
What does Jesus do when you’re at your moment of desperation? Mark 6:48 says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water” (NLT). Notice that he didn’t tell the disciples to come to him. He knew they wouldn’t be able to reach him. As a result, he went to them. You are in the same boat. Jesus comes to you when you’re at your lowest moment!
I love the fact that Jesus did not stand on the shore and shout instructions. You don’t need advise when you’re in the middle of a hurricane. You’re in desperate need of a miracle! Someone has to show up, and that’s exactly what Jesus did. In the midst of the disciples’ storm, he intervened.
This is the Gospel: God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling you what to do; instead, he comes out and meets you in your own storm—in your pain, fear, depression, and discouragement. He comes to you. What a God!
You may feel abandoned right now, but you’re not. The Bible says in John 14:18, “I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm—I will come to you” (TLB). You can count on it!
As a believer in Jesus Christ, filled with His Spirit, you can make decisions courageously because you can trust what is in your heart. Be grateful for the discernment and spiritual understanding that comes from trusting God.
“Who is God? He’s your Provider, your Healer, your Strength, your Wisdom and your Peace. He’s the one who provides grace, forgiveness, mercy, a hiding place, and a refuge in the storm. He provides strength to do everything we need to do. He’s amazing! Why would anybody not want a relationship with the kind of God? Who would not want to be taken care of…comforted every time you are afflicted? He’s the God of all hope—He’s our salvation!”
Every time you go through something hard and somebody comes against you, but you know in your heart that you’ve done what God asked you to do, you just hang on because I am telling you, you have got a blessing coming and you will see it and live in it.
God never tells us to pray that we’ll never have problems. He tells us to pray that when we have them, we will be steady in the storm.
We can’t get away from the storms of life, but we can respond by saying, “God, You are merciful, and You are good. And I am going to put my confidence in You until this storm passes over.”
As difficult as it is to remember when we are hurting, things do pass and come to an end. Spring always comes after winter. The sun shines again after the storm. If it is cloudy and storming in your life today, look forward to the sun that will probably be shining tomorrow, or the next day or the one after that. It won’t storm forever!
When you are in a storm, remember that the rough weather won’t last forever!!