Hopeنموونە

 Sometimes following Jesus can take you directly into the heart of a storm – into the heart of hopelessness. That’s what happened to Jesus’ disciples on the Sea of Galilee. They were simply doing what they had been told to do and wound up in one of the worst nights of their lives. We read, “Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side … ” (Matthew 14:22).

Did you catch that? Jesus made them get into the boat. The disciples were being obedient. They were reading their Bible, listening to the Word, and doing what it said. But then it happened: Winds pounded their boat threatening to destroy them. The Scripture says, “But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves…” (Matthew 14:24).

Have you ever felt blown about or battered in the middle of doing exactly what you believe God told you to do? I know I have. I wish I could tell you that following Jesus means you will never have to face any storms. I wish I could tell you that it means the waters of this life will always be calm. But I can’t because the Bible says otherwise. The Bible is full of stories about people who faced hard times while doing exactly what God wanted them to do.

The disciples are one example. The Israelites are another example. When the Israelites reached the Red Sea, Pharoah and his army were behind them. Water stretched for miles in front of them. There was nowhere to go even though they had gone exactly where God had sent them.

They discovered, as many of us have discovered, that you can be both in the center of God’s will, and still stuck in what appears to be a hopeless situation. That being so, I never want you to confuse trials or hopelessness with an absence of God, or His plans. He has a purpose for the storms He allows in our lives. 

There is a lot of preaching today as well as many Christian books that tell you that if you follow Jesus, you will never have to face any challenges in life. But that wasn’t true for Jesus, or anyone else who followed Him. This is because God sometimes allows trials into our lives in order to reveal Himself to us in a way that we would not have known Him otherwise. But whether or not we benefit from these trials or they defeat us depends largely on how we view them and how we respond to God in the middle of them.

Being in a trial is never fun. But you don’t have to go through it alone. The downfall in the economy may have put pressure on your financial life. Maybe you’ve lost your job due to no fault of your own. Or maybe these pressures have increased the strain at home in your family and you are facing a storm in your marriage or with your kids.

Wherever your storm may be, you are not alone. Jesus is with you and He will see you through. Listen for His voice. Look for Him. Remember, if life ever makes you feel like you are drowning, your lifeguard walks on water.