Mustard Seed Thoughts #15

In John Ch 6, we read about the incident where the disciples were left alone without Jesus. Prior to this incident, it was the feeding of the 4000. After experiencing and seeing this great miracle, the disciples were all charged up. Their faith would have been on all time high. Jesus retreated to the mountain and left the disciples to themselves. Naturally, they went on with their normal activities. Next thing they knew it: big problem!

Realities hit us. Disappointments, frustrations, failures, prayers not answered etc. How do we fare and cope during times like these? The disciples were probably facing this situation when they were in the sea. (6:16-17) It started to change from light to darkness…..from calm to tempest….from faith to fear….from laughter to tears.. “ it was already dark and Jesus had not come to them “ (6:17)

It was getting dark. How we fear the situation. It can be very threatening. We can imagine the thoughts and fear that were going through the minds of these men. They had been on a lookout for Jesus. The situation had started to become frightening for them. We have been in situations like that haven’t we? Fearful about something. Looking for Jesus to show up. We pray desperately for Him to turn the situation around…..He has not come to us.

To make matters worse, there was a great wind. (6:18) The disciples must be battling with the wind also to try to keep the sails intact. Battling the wind is no easy matter. Imagine the velocity and impact of great winds. It spells devastation. The hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes always leave a trail of destruction after they have come and gone. At times, our problems are like that. They pound on us until we have no more energy to fight them anymore. They leave us devastated. Those merciless storms of life.

The sea was rough (6: 18) Everything around them seemed to be caving in. How more worse can it get? The only thing for them to survive was to do the natural thing – start rowing. (v19) When everything around us falters, we do the natural: do what we must to stay alive. We hope to stay afloat with what we have been trained all these years. These men were great fishermen. They knew how to row the boats. Anyway, the Lord had not shown up…. what else could they do? They tried to survive.

After they had rowed the boat for 3-4 miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea (6:19) He showed them 3 things (1) He had the miracle they were seeking for- He could walk on the sea. They were fighting for their lives at sea. He controlled the sea. (2) He came at the 11^th hour - to see their level of trust and faith. Why did He not come earlier? (3) He was mindful of their need and situation – He approached them (6:19) Jesus comes to us at the right time in response to our need. When we give up depending on yourselves, He intervenes into that situation. Most of all, He has the power and authority to help us overcome the problem. All we have to do is to invite Him in…. into our boat (lives). Notice the event ended with these words….’immediately…the boat was at the land’ (6;21) That is how fast He helps us solve our problems.