Sunday, November 29, 2015
Comfort Comes
Yesterday at fellowship there were many scriptures that caught my attention. One was the scripture where Yeshuah (Jesus) walks on the water. What was interesting to me is the series of events that led up to that and then what happens at the event itself. Here is one version of the story.
Matthew 14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
They had just seen Yeshuah (Jesus) feed 5,000 and then 4,000, each time with barely enough to feed Himself and the twelve disciples. He sends them on their way in the boat and He goes to pray. In the version in Mark it says He was walking and was going to pass them by, but the were afraid. In this telling we see that they were somewhat comforted by His voice, enough for Peter to say for Yeshuah (Jesus) to tell Peter to come to Him on the water. Once Yeshuah (Jesus) was in the boat, the waves calmed. The disciples were comforted by His presence. Mark says they did not understand because their heart was hardened after seeing the miracles of the fishes. As I thought about this, I wondered what it meant to harden their hearts because they were still following Him and keeping His commands.
What is a hardened heart? It is one that is not softened by the love of the Father, I think perhaps. If I think of the moments that God moved in my life, times when I became emotional, I can remember how I felt. In those moments my heart was softened for sure. One thing to consider is how we can achieve a softened heart at all times. For me, dealing in business with the world on a regular basis, it seems difficult. Here we see that the Messiah went off to pray before heading out on the water. Perhaps it is this time of prayer that helps us to keep our hearts softened.
Let’s pray today for the revelation of a softened heart.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. It is Your kingdom that we want around us. Bless the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us up on the inside that our hearts can be softened. Deliver us from the evils here. Deliver us from the thief that has stolen from us, is stealing from us, and continues to steal from us. Cut off this evil work. Grind it to powder. Rise up, O King, and destroy these works that try to destroy us. Restore all that has been stolen one hundred times one hundred fold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.