Looking toward God for Help

My cousin blessed me with this passage just after a time in my life that left me exhausted and drained, looking toward God for help, but unsure how to approach Him.

This passage is the inspiration for the first song I ever wrote, the same song that God used to bless people in New York City during a mission trip in the summer of 2006. And I hope that this passage will bless you as much as God has used it to bless me.

Read Matthew 14: 22-36.

When I read this passage, I see an intimate moment between Jesus and the disciples. In verse 22, Jesus dismisses the crowd that was following Him (He had just fed the 5,000) and sends the disciples ahead of Him in a boat.
Jesus deliberately wanted to be alone with the disciples, but it seems like He didn’t think things through. He sent the disciples away in the boat earlier and by nightfall, the boat was already far away from land…but since Jesus wasn’t with them then, He was still on shore. Not to mention, a storm had started to brew. Clearly, it was bad planning on Jesus’ part… right?

But then, Jesus heads out onto the lake.

Matthew makes it sound so inconspicuous. “Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.” Almost like we would say “Ben came to youth group, driving in his silver Nissan.” And I think many people like to stop and just focus on the fact that Jesus is doing something supernatural. But that’s not the point; Jesus is 100% God, so it shouldn’t be surprising that He is doing something like that.
What I glean the most from this passage is the interaction between Jesus and the disciples because it parallels the relationship we have with God.

When Peter asks if he can go out onto the water with Jesus, he is welcomed without hesitation. “Come,” Jesus says. And Peter is able to walk on water through God’s power as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. However, when Peter focused on the waves and the storm that were around him, he started to sink. And of course, Peter cries out for his life and Jesus reaches out and saves him.
Read Matthew 14:22-36 again.

Does the connection seem clearer?
I can name many times in my life when I felt like I was struggling by myself in a storm. But God always reminds me to keep my eyes on Him and is always faithful in making everything work out for His glory.

That is the amazing thing about our God. He doesn’t just show off his power and strength for the sake of it to make us drop our jaws in awe. Instead, He invites us to join Him and lends us His strength and His power as we work with Him so that others can also see how great and wonderful our God is.