45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. 48When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. 49But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ 51Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened
On our trip to the Holy Land, we visited the Sea of Galilee (now known as Lake Tiberius). It was an amazing experience. The peace that filled my heart in that place is more than I can ever describe. One of the most surprising things about that place was that the mountains move into the lake. There is little flat land. We stood on the Mount of the Beatitudes and walked down the steep path to the lake, pausing to think about this scripture.
The distance from one side of the lake to the other, in this scripture, is only about 4-5 miles. You can clearly see the entire lake from the mountain. Standing there it was easy to understand that Jesus, on the mountain praying, could have easily seen the disciples struggling in the boat.
Jesus knew that the disciples were struggling. He knew that the wind was adverse. He allowed them to struggle. He set out walking across the water. The next sentence says, “He intended to pass them by.” Jesus was planning to walk on by. But they called out to him.
If the disciples had been too involved with their struggle they would have missed Jesus. He would have walked right by them and he would have been waiting for them on the other side. They were wise enough to watch for him.
Jesus is always watching over us. Jesus knows our struggles. If we get so caught up in our struggles that we forget to look for him, we might just miss the opportunity to experience Jesus in the midst of our struggle.
Keep up the hard work of life, but don’t forget that Jesus is near.
Blessings,
Pastor Mandy