Just imagine the stress those disciples were under! First of all, Jesus tells them to cross the lake and leave Him behind. Then they had a terrible time with the wind and waves, to the point where they’re still out on the lake at 3 a.m. But though it isn’t fun, they’re handling it, and God lets them.
But then they got the scare of their lives. They saw Jesus coming, walking on the water. “What was that? Was it a ghost?” They were terrified.
But Jesus intervened immediately to calm them down. “It’s Me!” He said. “Don’t be afraid!” Jesus was okay with letting them handle the other stress, but this fear was too much. And so He stepped in and dealt with it.
We see the same thing happen when Peter asks Jesus to command him to come to Him, walking on the water. Jesus is fine with that level of stress, and he says okay. He lets Peter deal with it. But when Peter starts sinking and cries out for help, Jesus grabs him immediately. That’s way past what Jesus will let Peter deal with on his own.
Isn’t this the way that God treats us, too? Most of the time, God lets us deal with the stress in our lives using the resources He has given us—prayer, good friends, good nutrition and sleep, Holy Communion, and so forth. But there are some times when we are ready to break, and God knows that. He stretches out His hand and helps us in a more direct way than we are used to.
Of course, the hardest times are when we feel we are about to break, but we don’t yet see God’s help coming to us. Why is God not helping us? we ask. Doesn’t He notice? At times like that, we can do like the disciples—scream and cry out and beg for help, and keep doing that until God answers.
That’s pretty audacious. But we can do it because Jesus has laid down His life for us to make us children of God. Our Father wants us to bug Him. That’s what children do when they have complete trust in their parents. And we know that the Lord is utterly faithful and loving. So we cry out to Him in confidence, putting all our hope and trust in Him.
THE PRAYER: Lord, You know the stress in my life. Please help me! Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. When is the time you were very stressed and God helped you?
2. What is one thing that is bothering you a lot right now?
3. When you are worried, how do you remember to trust in God?