Riding Out Life's Difficulties

"He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed." - Psalm 107:29 NIV

If you're past the age of 10, you've probably already figured out that life is not free of challenges. Difficulties, pain in relationships, and even tragedies are part of every day life. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His disciples, "Take courage. There are many storms in this life. (Here's the good part...my emphasis added). But take heart, I have overcome the world." Wow. Now, that's a scripture to hang your hat on!

Whenever you face a storm, your first urge may be to scream, "Why?" Certain storms do come into our lives because of our own sin, but many challenges occur when we're right in the middle of God's will. We're not doing anything wrong. We're doing what God wants us to do. Certainly, that was the case for the disciples. Jesus told them to get into the boat and row across the Sea of Galilee. They were obeying Jesus when they suddenly found themselves in a horrific storm. It was so bad, they didn't even know if they'd survive. But here is the important message from that event - they did survive. With the help of Jesus, they survived.

Sinking in the Storm?

But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying,

“Lord, save me!”  Matthew 14:30

Jesus sent His disciples away so He could be alone.  He put them into a boat and commanded them to go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while He went up the mountain to pray. 

As the disciples made their way across the Sea of Galilee, a great storm arose, and the ship was being battered by the wind and the waves.  To make matters worse, it was in the darkest part of the night.  They were scared ... they were exhausted from countless hours of rowing … they were feeling alone and abandoned because Jesus wasn’t there with them. 

Then, lo and behold, Jesus comes to them walking on the sea!  At first, they thought He was a ghost.  I mean, who would have thunk it?  Jesus, walking on water?  Who can walk on water?  God can. 

Dog Paddling or Water-Walking? How to Weather Life's Storms

Julie Barrier

Fierce, contrary winds whipped the waves of the Galilean Sea like a frothy meringue. Jesus’ rag-tag team shivered in their sandals as their tiny wooden skiff tossed about on the choppy sea. White-knuckled, Jesus’ motley crew squinted hard to see the shoreline. A ghostly apparition approached the tiny vessel. Wide-eyed, the crew saw that it was Jesus, tip-toeing over the surface of the water. Frozen by fear, the sudden appearance of their Master gave them a glimmer of hope.

Could this really be Jesus?

Peter, the off-again on-again disciple, called out to the Lord and asked Him if he could join his wave-walking. Jesus said yes, and Peter leapt out of the boat. No dunking, no drowning. His cohorts were stunned. Their rough-and-tumble buddy was doing the miraculous. But not for long. Peter, feeling his oats, decided to wave to the other disciples behind him and started gloating over floating.