Stone Throwing

 

God Connection

 

God sees us

 “Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he [Jesus] was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them” (Mark 6:47-48a).

Jesus had just sent His disciples to the other side of the lake while He went to the hillside to pray. As they sailed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee they encountered a storm with high winds. The disciples were struggling against the high winds so Jesus began walking toward them on the Sea.

How often that is a picture of our lives. We are doing what Jesus asked us to do and a dangerous storm interferes with our purpose. We are struggling to stay alive. It would be fair to say that the disciples weren’t thinking high spiritual thoughts. Their thoughts would’ve been something like, “Am I going to live through this?”

The good news is that when we face a crisis and it claims all our energy God is watching over us. When we may not be thinking of Him He is looking out for us. The disciples’ world had been reduced to the size of that boat.

There is not a demon in hell or a raging storm that can keep Jesus from us when we need Him! For those who wonder where God is in a crisis the answer is “He’s watching over us and on His way to rescue us and save us.” He doesn’t come to harm us or condemn us. He comes in mercy and compassion because He knows that we’re confronted with a challenge we can’t handle without Him. That is our hope in every crisis.

Jesus never forgets us

 “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you’ ” (Mark 16:7).

All the disciples had run away from Jesus before the crucifixion. Now that He was risen from the dead the angel conveys a message from Him to be carried to His disciples. He was going to meet them in Galilee just as He had promised them before He was crucified.

The tremendous heart of Jesus is revealed by these words. His disciples may have been still feeling the pain of their desertion. Jesus, as He always does, takes the initiative in reaching out to them. In spite of the fact that they had left Him in His crisis hour, He had just died for them. He has always done what He is able to do to reconcile us to Himself.

Of particular interest is His mention of Peter. Peter, having proclaimed his willingness to die with Jesus, had three times denied that he knew Him. He had wept bitterly at his own failure. Now, Jesus says specifically to Peter that he is included in Jesus’ message. It is typical of Jesus. He never forgets us, no matter what we have done and even though we disappoint ourselves He never gives up on us. He just asks us to continue to trust Him.

It is Peter who was chosen by God to preach the first post-resurrection message. God has an immeasurable supply of mercy and grace. Thank God for that!