Walking On Water
When you cry out to Jesus He comes–Immediately. There’s no other way to interpret the word immediately other than right now, this instant, at once. That’s what happened when the disciples needed His help. Immediate rescue.
How many times have you heard or read about the time Jesus walked on water?
Five, ten, fifty, a hundred?
Yeah, me too. Sadly, it’s easy to skim over stories we think we know. I love it when the Holy Spirit reveals something new to me.
In class we’ve been studying the gospels. We were on our second pass through when I saw something I hadn’t seen before in the story.
The Struggle
In Mark’s account found in Mark 6:45-52, Jesus has just fed the five thousand and sent the disciples in the boat ahead of him to Bethsaida. When He’s finished with His solitude and prayer He starts to walk on the water across the sea.
It says the disciples were in the boat, struggling, “making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.” Here’s the part that grabbed my attention, as Jesus neared the boat, “He meant to pass by them…” (Mark 6:48)
Jesus recognized they were struggling, yet according to Mark, He meant to pass by them and leave them to battle against the waves.
I remembered that Jesus did eventually join them in the boat and calm the seas. So I asked myself, what changed? What caused Him to stop and help?
The Disciples Cry Out to Jesus
If you look at verse 49 it says that when they saw Jesus walking on the water “they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified.” Then immediately He spoke to them “‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid,’ and he got into the boat with them.”
I went to Matthew’s account of the story found in Matthew 14:22-33. Same thing. The disciples were afraid and cried out. Jesus immediately spoke to them.
That is powerful information right there!
How many times do we cry out to Jesus, but assume that because we don’t feel anything, He’s not there. These stories shed light on the character of Jesus. He’s willing to let us struggle and make painful headway in life until we humbly cry out for His help. But…when we do finally cry out to Him, He immediately comes to our rescue.
Take Heart, Jesus Will Come Immediately
I kept reading the story and guess what I found? When Peter gets out of the boat to walk on the water with Jesus, he starts to sink and cries out to Jesus. Once again, “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him.” (Matthew 14:31)
There’s a correlation between the humble act of crying out to Jesus and Him immediately coming to our rescue.
I find a lot of comfort in that.
Are you struggling and making painful headway in one area of your life? Do you need Him to come immediately? I know I do.
Let’s cry out to Him today, and then look for His rescue. It may not feel or look the way we expect, but we can be sure, He is there with us in the struggle saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
All I can say Leanna is, Yes and Amen!