TEXT: Matthew 14:22-36
ALL day long Jesus had been busy helping people and teaching them and now it was getting dark. The people had gone home. Some of Jesus’ friends were in a little boat going across the sea. Jesus was not with them. Jesus was so tired He wanted to be all by Himself upon a mountain for a little while so He could talk to God.
“You get into the boat,” Jesus had said, “and go to the other side of the sea.” Jesus would meet them when they got there.
It was so cool and quiet on the water. The little stars had begun to twinkle, twinkle in the sky. The little waves went slap, slap, slap against the side of the little boat.
Then all of a sudden the wind started to blow real hard. The boat rocked and tipped out there in those big, big waves.
The wind blew harder and harder. OO-oo-oo OO-oo-oo. It blew the water into great, big waves. It was getting darker and darker. Big, big waves from one side to the other. My, such a bad storm!
Jesus’ helpers could not make the boat go to the shore. They tried hard to row it but the wind would push it the other way. The men worked and worked and rowed and rowed but the boat would not go the way they wanted it to. The wind was too strong and the waves were too high. The wind kept blowing the boat farther out into the stormy, deep waters.
Jesus’ helpers were afraid now. Here they were way out in this storm in the dark and the water coming way up into the boat and Jesus was not with them to help them. What would they do?
As the men worked and worked to make the boat go they looked up and saw someone walking on top of the water. Yes, they did. Someone was out there in the water walking right on top of it.
Now the helpers were more afraid than ever. Who could that be? Who could walk on water? No one, they thought.
Closer and closer to the boat came this Person walking along on the water. Closer and closer. Now the men were really afraid.
The helpers did not know who it was — but it was Jesus. Jesus could walk on the water without sinking, no matter how deep the water was or how stormy. Yes, it was Jesus coming to help them.
Jesus saw how afraid the men were so He called out to them and said, “It is I, Jesus. Do not be afraid.” How surprised they were to hear Jesus’ voice. They had never seen Jesus do anything like this before.
Peter, one of Jesus’ helpers, could hardly be sure that he was really seeing Jesus. He told Jesus to tell him to come to Him. Jesus said, “Come.” He got so excited he got right out of the boat and started to walk to meet Jesus. As long as he was looking at Jesus he was doing all right, but all of a sudden Peter happened to look down and saw the terrible, stormy waves. He was afraid right away. It was when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the water that he started sinking. Down, down, down into the water he went; but Jesus did not let Peter sink. He put out His hand and caught Peter. Jesus always helps.
As soon as they got into the boat the wind stopped blowing. That noisy wind was as still as still could be. The great, big waves stopped splashing all over the boat. The storm was all over. Jesus had made the wind be still and the water quiet like it was before.
The Jesus we pray to is the same Jesus today who can make everything all right for us, too.
%402x.svg){kind=icon}
%402x.svg){kind=icon}
