Just before this passage Jesus feeds 5000 men plus women and children from two fish and five loaves of bread. He sent everyone away and told His disciples to go into the boat to the other side of the lake. Jesus needed some alone time to focus on His Father in Heaven. He must have been tired, yet He was praying most of the night. Meanwhile, the disciples were in a boat crossing the lake and a storm came up. Jesus went out to them walking on the water. When they saw Him they were afraid with good reason. There was a storm around them and someone was walking on top of the water! Peter ask if he could join Jesus on the water and Jesus said yes. Peter got out and started walking on the water. As long as Peter was focused on Jesus, he was fine but as soon as he saw the storm raging around him he started sinking. Jesus rescued Peter and as soon as they got back into the boat the storm stopped.
How many of us try to focus on Jesus but become distracted by our storm? I know I do! What is your storm? Many are battling depression and/or anxiety. Some are battling chronic pain. Others are going through grief and loss. There are many storms. There is only one real solution! Jesus wants to calm your storm. However, sometimes we need to go through a storm to learn a valuable lesson. Jesus will go through the storm with you but you need to focus on Him!
How to focus on Him? Follow Jesus’ example. Prior to walking out to the boat Jesus was praying. He was focusing on His Father. Oh, what sweet communication must have been going on between the two of them. Jesus probably felt refreshed, from talking to His Father, even after a long day of healing sick and feeding all those people. So, the first thing Jesus did was to pray. Talk to God about all your problems. He wants you to have a relationship with Him that is sweet fellowship where you can talk to Him about what is on your mind.
Second to focus on Jesus. You can focus on Him by reading His Word. After all, the Bible is God’s love letter to all of us to use as a guidebook for our lives. Read His Word every day. I like Our Daily Bread online. It can be found at: https://odb.org/ Each day it gives a scripture passage and a short devotional. Today’s reading was on this scripture passage. I felt led to write about it while I was writing to God in my prayer journal, so I did. Sometimes God works that way in my life.
Finally, praise God for helping you through the storm or even during the storm when you feel His presence. When the storm was calm after Jesus and Peter got back into the boat the disciples started praising Jesus. They recognized He was the Son of God. Telling Jesus you recognize Him as God and giving Him control of the situation will make you feel better. But they did not do that by themselves. They did it together. God wants us to praise Him together. Get together with other who share your beliefs. God wants to have fellowship with us, and He wants us to fellowship with others. So, pray, read the Bible and go to church! You have probably heard that all your life but God wants you to still do it!
Just a few books and Bibles you might be interested in reading. By clicking on the below links and making a purchase you support this website by helping with the costs at no extra costs to you. Thank You!
Jesus, the One and Only
By Beth Moore
Embark on a spiritual journey that will transform the way you see Jesus! Based on her best-selling Bible study, Moore’s up-close look at Christ brings you face-to-face with the Lord. Hear him preach on the Galilean hillside, see him raise the dead, watch him calm the storm—and your heart will be his forever. 304 pages, hardcover from B&H.
NLT Jesus Centered, Imitation Leather, Charcoal
Encounter Jesus in a Fresh Way Throughout the Entire Bible
The NLT Jesus-Centered Bible offers a variety of new experiences of reading the Bible through the lense of the life of Christ. Blue lettering highlights more than 600 passages in the Old Testament pointing to Jesus – references and promises that show God’s love story for your life. You’ll see where Jesus appears, cover-to-cover, in every book of the Bible. The distinctive blue lettering helps you quickly and easily discover what’s most important in the Bible: Jesus. Build your understanding – and your faith in Jesus – with these unique features: segments focus on Jesus’ answers to our most common uncertainties and concerns. Introductions to Old and New Testament books, written by prominent Christian leaders, show how each book in the Bible points straight to Jesus. Get to know Jesus with one-chapter-a-day Bible-reading plans that help you spend time with Jesus every day. References in a larger cultural context, giving you serendipitous insights into the people, places, and social forces that framed Jesus’ ministry. Draw closer to Jesus as you ponder the purpose of his words and actions. Provocative questions are linked with the text and are posed in the same style that Jesus used. They are great discussion starters for small groups, family devotions, outreach – anywhere you want to launch a compelling conversation about Jesus. Jesus’ spoken words and references to Jesus are highlighted with red letters in the New Testament. Names of Jesus are highlighted throughout the New Testament, giving insights into Jesus by examining how writers of the Bible referred to Jesus.
Features:
- Easy-to-read New Living Translation
- Imitation leather covers available in turquoise or charcoal
- Gilded edges
- Box packaging
- Lay-flat binding for easy use
- Ribbon marker
- 9-point text size
- Dictionary/concordance
Walking on Water: Experiencing a Life of Miracles, Courageous Faith & Union with God
By Jennifer A. Miskov
The apostle Peter didn’t attend a special class on how to walk on water—he just wanted to be closer to Jesus! With fresh biblical insight and immediate practical applications, Miskov will inspire you to follow your heart, take risks, step into the impossible, and discover the unique miracles God is working on your behalf. Paperback.
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