Stormy Weather and FEAR

Matthew 14:22-34  (New King James Version)

"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid.”  And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret". 
                                                                      

               

The disciples of Jesus were in a ship.  A storm came up and they became afraid.  But then, they saw Jesus walking on the water - toward them.  He told them who He was. As the story progresses,  Peter, one of the disciples, walked on the water too.....at first....until he became afraid of the storm.
                                                       

Are you experiencing a storm in your life at the moment? 
It is human nature to be fearful your current situation. 
Matthew 14:31 says, "And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  Notice that Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught Peter.  
But wait - look at the next verse.  It says "And when they were got in to the boat, the wind ceased".
Jesus caught Peter and was with him until they got in to the boat.  
It does not say that Jesus stopped the storm and then they went to the ship. It says "when they got in to the boat , the wind ceased".   If you are experiencing a storm in your life right now, please understand that God knows and He does care!  
Sometimes our Heavenly Father will go "through" the storm with us and then there are other times when He may take the storm away.  
                                    Another part of this story that catches my eye is that Jesus is the One who sent His disciples to the ship and told them to meet Him on the other side.  Matthew 14:22 says, "Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away." 
Jesus knew what was about to transpire.  He sent them.  
So many times we question God when He tells us to do something or go somewhere.  We become frustrated and question Him when we're trying our best to serve Him and obey His Word.  Yet, the storms of life come and create havoc and disappointments for us.  Today, I encourage you to find comfort in knowing that our Savior knows, He cares and He is right there with us "through" the storms.
                                           
                                                      

Do not be afraid!  

Jeremiah 1

The Book of Jeremiah 

 The Message Translation

Chapter 1

1 1-4 "The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God’s Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amos reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:

5 “Before I shaped you in the womb,
    I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
    I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
    that’s what I had in mind for you.”

6 But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
    I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

7-8 God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
    I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
    Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
    God’s Decree.

9-10 God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
    “Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do
    among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
    take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
    building and planting.”

11-12 God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
    I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”
And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.
    I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

13-15 God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”
    I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”
Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north
    on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”
    God’s Decree.

15-16 “They’ll come and set up headquarters
    facing Jerusalem’s gates,
Facing all the city walls,
    facing all the villages of Judah.
I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
    for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
    worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

17 “But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
    Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don’t pull your punches
    or I’ll pull you out of the lineup.

18-19 “Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
    I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
    solid as a concrete block wall.
You’re a one-man defense system
    against this culture,
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
    against the priests and local leaders.
They’ll fight you, but they won’t
    even scratch you.
I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”
    God’s Decree.