His Outstretched Hands

But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:30-31 [NASB]

Peter and the disciples were in a boat crossing the sea Jesus told them to take after feeding the 5000 men, along with women and children. After they departed, He went to the mountain alone. During the fourth watch (3am-6am), Jesus walked on the sea toward the disciples’ storm-tossed boat far out at sea. The disciples saw him and thought He was a ghost. They did not believe it could be Jesus since they had never seen a person walk on water. They did not first believe in Jesus’ power, but allowed their small understanding of Him cause them to trust first in what they feared, a ghost or death from being at sea in a storm.

The disciples allowed their culture and their fears to dictate what was real and what was powerful. The wind causing the waves to batter their boat and toss them around was fearful for them because people die at sea. Their fears of dead people’s spirit’s inhabited and possessing them for evil caused them first to fear what appeared to be Jesus. Their little understanding of Jesus’ power caused them to doubt the person they recognized was the living Jesus. The disciples fear, culture, and lack of understanding and belief created for them a crisis. They could not trust what they saw-Jesus walking on stormy waves-but had to determine its authenticity by their flawed understanding as people.

Peter was uncertain, but he wanted to hear Jesus’ voice to confirm His reality and presence. He asked Jesus to command him to come. Peter recognized Jesus’ voice, and he understood Jesus’ command to come because Jesus commanded him, Andrew, James, and John in Matthew 4:19-22, “Come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Peter wanted to be certain it was Jesus when all around him was waves and storm caused by whipping winds.

Jesus loves to hear from His disciples. He did as Peter asked; He commanded him, “Come.” Jesus knew Peter’s heart and that he wanted to follow Him. He understood Peter feared He didn’t know the Master completely. Peter didn’t trust his instincts yet that it really was Jesus. As a fisherman, he had experience with the storms on that sea. Peter realized the wind could knock him over and the waves could swallow him. He wanted to trust what he saw was Jesus. Peter’s heart knew it was Jesus, but his mind needed confirmation, and Jesus gave him that with His voiced command. He knew these things about Jesus. Peter didn’t yet realize Jesus was Master over the winds and sea.

Jesus commanded Peter, “Come.” Peter stepped out on the water and kept his eyes on his teacher in faith, truly recognizing him. Still, Peter’s mind told him to look at the waves, see the wind’s work, and remember these storms kill fishermen. He began to sink and all on which he had to hold was his small faith and hope that what he saw really was Jesus. His last hope before sinking under was to call out to Jesus, “Lord, save me.” “One whom I respect and recognize has power, save me!” Peter said.

Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of Peter. He asked Peter why his faith wavered. Without Peter’s answer recorded, Jesus got in the boat and the wind stilled. The wind recognized Jesus’ Lordship.

There is more at stake here than Jesus’ Lordship of the winds. In our understanding of creation, we know Jesus was part of creating all that is and so we recognize Jesus is Lord over the winds. What is most important in this passage is the disciples’ growth in faith, specifically Peter, but all of them because they all worshiped Jesus in verse thirty-three.

Jesus could have made the winds stop and allow the disciples smooth sailing over the sea while He prayed on the mountain. He could have calmed the wind that caused the waves when He began walking on the water towards the disciples’ boat. That would have made it easier for a human body to walk on water. Jesus could have calmed the wind and water when He arrived at the disciples’ boat. That would have made it easier for Peter to walk on the water so he mentally wouldn’t hesitate when he wanted to walk to Jesus. Jesus did none of these things. Instead, He answered Peter’s request. Jesus commanded Peter to come.

Jesus calls to each person, “Come.” We state within ourselves, “Sure, He is powerful and can make it smooth. I will trust in Him.” Yet, days will come when the winds of the world cause storms to rise around us. On those days, we hesitate and ask the Lord to command us again, “Come.” His first command when He called us to come follow Him is in our memory, but our fears and culture collide with it and we doubt. We want to believe and so we ask Him to call us again. We want to believe He’s there and we are to continue to follow Him, but the winds and storms of our days make us doubt Jesus really called us. What we see and hear, and what we carry from our culture dictates to us what is and can be. Our minds and experiences try to take over our hearts. It’s from there we cry out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus could have made the way to Him easy for us every day. He could have kept the winds from battering our minds and hearts. Jesus could have stopped the winds when He answered our prayers to call us to come to Him again. Yet, He doesn’t always do that. What is He doing at these times? Why isn’t Jesus stopping the winds and storms? He is doing what He did for Peter and the other disciples. Jesus is growing us so we recognize He is Savior and Lord. Peter recognized Him, called to Him, believed in His power, and then let his circumstances dictate to him how powerful Jesus might be. He defined Jesus’ power by his own circumstances instead of letting Jesus define the circumstances.

Life would be easier if there was no wind and storm, but then we would be weak Christians with little need for Jesus. Without strength training, muscles stay weak. Without spiritual training, our faith remains small. Jesus allowed the waves to continue as He walked on the water, as He called to Peter to come, as Peter walked toward Him, and as He rescued Peter and they walked to the boat. Only after Jesus climbed into the boat did the winds still. Each step Jesus and Peter took was one step more to strengthen Peter’s faith and grow him toward Jesus.

Life gets hard and messy. Jesus calls to each of us. He calls us to come follow Him. As we follow Him, the winds of life do not always still. In their blowing, Jesus calls us to continue to follow Him. He knows it would be easier if the winds stopped, but He wants us to grow stronger in our faith to become closer to Him and become more like Him. Jesus allows the winds, not to harm us, but to strengthen us. He defines the circumstances. His “come follow me” doesn’t stop when life is hard. Jesus’ call is louder and more insistent during these times so we can hear Him while in the storms.

Though the sun does not shine, the storms batter the house, and the battle rages in your mind, Jesus’ call still resounds loud and strong, “Come, follow Me.” He is near you, calling you to come, and stretching out His hand to you.

Don’t let your circumstances define your faith. Let Jesus define your circumstances.

Let Him show you He is Lord over everything in and around your life. Allow Him to grow your faith and your relationship with Him. Step out on the water and recognize He is Lord. Then you will join the disciples worshiping Him, proclaiming to Him, “You are certainly God’s Son.” (vs. 33) Let Jesus to be your sunshine on stormy days. Allow Him to be your stability. Let Jesus gently erase the memories of your past and replace them with His reality. He loves you and will not let you sink if you follow Him. Jesus is Lord of your past, present, and future.

Lord, help me to see You and have faith in You even when I am weak, when the days are dark, and my heart wants to doubt. Help me to grow toward You and more like You each day. Forgive my doubt and falling back on what I know from my culture and history. Help me to remember You are Lord of my circumstances and they do not define who You are or what You can do. Thank you for your patience with me. Amen.

The Ultimate Destination

Acts 27

This week we continue our journey with Paul. Last week we followed him to Jerusalem, to which he continued going even knowing of his imprisonment and persecution. Many people heard from the Holy Spirit that Paul would be ill-treated, but he chose to continue on his journey to Jerusalem. He had heard from the Holy Spirit in Acts 19:21 that he was to go to Jerusalem. He did not allow the pleadings of other believers, evangelists, and prophets to keep him from this appointed journey. This week we jump into the middle of Paul’s last journey.

In Acts 25 and 26, Paul defended himself against the Pharisees charges. They became violent and began to beat and stone him. Twice the Roman cohort (guard) intervened and carried him out of the fray to the safety of the barracks. Because Paul was insistent, the second Roman governor of the region, Festus, agreed to send him to Rome to meet with the emperor. This is where we arrive in the story in Acts 27.

Chapter 27 begins, “it was decided that we would sail for Italy.” The garrison captain at Caesarea gave charge of Paul and other prisoners to a centurion named Julius. The left on an Adramyttian ship. This Adramyttian region is encompassed by the city of Mysia. Mysia was a province of Asia Minor on the shore of the Aegean Sea, between Lydia and Popontis. It included the cities of Pergamos, Troas, and Assos. The prisoners, Paul, and Julius joined this ship and sailed to Sidon, a Phoenician city on the east coast of the Mediterranean near Tyre and above Caesarea. The commandant gave Paul freedom to visit friends and receive care with them. They next sailed between Cyprus and Asia to keep northeaster winds from buffeting them. Northeaster winds are strongest during winter. The ship continued to sail along the coast of Asia and landed at Myra. Julius found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, upon which they next traveled. They sailed along Asia but experienced difficulty with the winds and decided to sail south of Crete letting the island be a wind barrier for them.

At this point, the journey became treacherous and Paul “admonished them” (vs. 9). He spoke as one who had many years lived and traveled in the vicinity. He said, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives.” After the pilot and ship’s captain persuaded the Roman centurion, they continued their journey. At this point we must stop and consider a couple of things. The captain and pilot of the ship left Lycia and passed Cnidus knowing that the weather at this time of year was deadly. Their possible greed for one last trip to markets surpassed their common sense and experience. They chose money over the value of lives, cargo, and ship. Julius the centurion followed bad advice and judged incorrectly between Paul and the captain. Both these men had ulterior reasons for continuing on the journey. Paul wanted to get to Rome. Going to Rome had been his dream for years. Yet he chose more than that to follow the leadings of God and God told him the current journey would end in lost cargo and lives. However, the journey had to go forward because of the captain of the ship. Bad choices and bad judgments can lead us astray but not out of God’s hands.

The captain decided to continue and they left the Fair Havens harbor. (Aptly named don’t you think?) The ship headed for a more stable harbor at Phoenix to shelter from the winter winds. In verse 13, the crew and captain felt they had a sign from a god to go ahead with the journey and left the Fair Havens harbor. Before they arrived at Phoenix, a violent wind caught the ship and drove it hard. The boat ran under the shelter of Clauda and the crew barely got it under control. They girded the ship’s hull with ropes to strengthen it, lowered the sea anchor, and allowed the wind to drive them along the sea. The next day they were so violently storm-tossed that they jettisoned the cargo and later threw the ship’s tackle overboard. For fourteen days they did not see sun, moon, or stars nor had they eaten during this time. The outlook was bleak. Once again Paul spoke. He stood up in their midst and said,

Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night and angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.” Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But, we must run aground on a certain island. (Acts 27:21-26 [NASB])

Even though men, in their bad decisions and judgment, appear to thwart God’s plan, God remains in control.

 After this, the men listened to Paul and what the Lord said to him. They continued to be driven around the Adriatic Sea and noticed they were approaching land. The crew feared they would run aground and, under the premise of cutting the anchor, they lowered the ship’s boat. Paul noticed and told the centurion, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved” (vs. 31). The soldiers were listening to Paul now. They realized Paul spoke up before the journey and was right. The captain of the ship led them astray and into harm’s way and death’s door, they realized. The men may have thought, “What do we have to lose by listening to Paul now.” Alternatively, they may have thought they should have listened to Paul from the beginning. Either way, they chose to heed Paul and cut the ship’s boat away so no one could leave the ship. After this, Paul encouraged them and told them to eat, for it had been fourteen days since they had last eaten. He said, “Therefore, I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish” (vs. 34). He took the bread and thanked God in front of them. Encouraged, they ate, and then threw the remaining wheat overboard. God continues to care for His creation, people, and wants them to survive, thrive, and be encouraged as they go through live. Paul became the ambassador of God for the crew, soldiers, and prisoners.

When day broke, they saw land but did not recognize it. Next they resolved to drive the ship onto the island. They cut the anchors away, hoisted the foresail, and headed for the beach. Before they arrived at the beach, the prow (forward hull) stuck hard in the reef. The stern splintered by the force of the waves outside the reef. The soldiers fretted over prisoners getting away and not meeting their judgment in Rome. They wanted to kill the prisoners. Julius wanted to fulfill his duty and take Paul to the emperor. He kept the soldiers from killing the prisoners and arrived at a plan to get everyone to the island. Those who could swim would and those who could not would hold onto ship planks and other floating debris to get to the island. The 276 people arrived on the beach alive.

What I saw in this story is not just a storm-tossed and broken ship with survivors, but God’s hand. Men - the captain, pilot, and Julius - made bad decisions or judgments about the journey. Their greed or drive to do their duty surpassed their good sense about nature and the time of the year. They chose not to listen to Paul, God’s anointed servant, because he was just a man who was a prisoner. As we journey with them on this tumultuous ride, we find that God’s hand does not leave Paul or the boat. In the end, the crew, captain, and Julius decide to listen to Paul. Possibly they decided it could not get any worse without them dying, so why not. Maybe they decided they should give it a try since their knowledge was not getting them out of their mess alive. Either way, the crew gave control of their lives and their ship to God.

God’s plans are never thwarted. In the end, His will prevails. We know from the book of Revelations that God is the victor over Satan and his demons. Jesus Christ won the battle when He rose from the grave on the third day. He proved His power over death and Satan. God has a plan for each of us. His ultimate plan is that we turn to Him, accept His gift of salvation, and have a personal relationship with Him throughout eternity. Sometimes, though, we make bad decisions and judgments and our paths skew away from God. If we are Christians, we will ultimately be with God in heaven for eternity. We can never be removed from God’s hand. We can walk our own ways, fall into pits, and make bad decisions, but God is always God and will bring us through because of His love over our lives. On the other hand, if a person is not a Christian, until they have given their lives to God through Jesus Christ, when they make bad decisions, their ultimate end is not assured to be in God’s hand. The only assurance that person has is that they will face judgment and to determine if they are one of God’s sheep or one who is to be put into hell forever. That is our choice. We each get to choose who we want to be lord of our lives – God or ourselves. That is the ultimate decision we make and it determines our ultimate end in this life and forever.

Paul was God’s servant. He knew God told him he would go to Rome. He had confidence in this and knew He would survive to get there, because God had a plan for him there. No matter what decisions or judgments the crew or Julius made, God’s plan was not be thwarted. Yes, they made bad decisions and went through very hair-raising times on the ship, but God continued to speak to Paul and encourage him. God encouraged the other 275 people onboard the ship through Paul.

Our lives often mirror that ship’s journey. When we choose to follow God’s path, be it smooth or stormy, we know we will, in the end, be in God’s hand and arrive at His purposed destination for us. The purpose of our lives, remember, is to be in relationship with God and to tell others about Him. (Read Genesis to understand that.) Choosing to follow that path means we give our lives into His care. When we choose not to follow God’s path, it will be stormy or smooth at times, but we do not have God’s hand steadying us and encouraging us on our journey. We may even perish from this life and eternal life because of our refusal to follow His Son, Jesus Christ. This may seem like a grand plan to scare everyone into following God, but it is not. God chooses each of us because He loves us. He provided salvation from our sinful earthly selves through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. This love is not a grand plan to punish people or coerce them into having to follow Him. No, God gives us free will. What we choose is up to each individual person. God offers salvation and eternal life. The alternative is your choice. By not choosing God, you choose eternal punishment, for that is what sin deserves, punishment. Any loving parent disciplines their child. God made a way for the discipline to come to an end, through the sacrifice of His Son as the atoning sacrifice for all sins. It is up to us to choose to accept this free gift of His sacrifice.

Life can be like a boat on a stormy sea, but we can have the assurance Paul had. God had a plan for him in his immediate physical life and in his eternal life. Paul rested peacefully in that knowledge. He trusted God’s hand would not leave him or be thwarted by the bad decisions or judgments of men. God saved Paul and 275 other men that night. In the next three weeks, while they waited out winter, God healed and saved many other people through His servant Paul. God’s purpose was not thwarted. Many were saved on that ship and many more were saved on the island of Malta during the ensuing weeks of their stay.

God has a plan for you and for me. We each get to choose what we want to do; that is a gift God gave us when He created us.

You get to choose who will be the lord of your life – yourself or God.

With this decision, you get to choose your ultimate destination – heaven or hell – life and love or death.

The decision is yours.