Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 27
Passage of the Day: Psalm 107: 23-24 [NLT] …
23 Some went off in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. 24 They, too, observed the LORD’s power in action, His impressive works on the deepest seas.
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Psalm 107 [NLT] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 14: 22 : [NLT] … {Jesus sends His disciples out on the open seas to let them see God’s mighty works. } …
22 Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home.
Reference Passage #2: Mark 6: 47-48 : [NLT] … {God sometimes has to send us out into tough times for us to see Him for Whom He really is – GOD!} …
47 During the night, the disciples were in their boat out in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning He came to them, walking on the water.
Reference Passage #3: John 6: 18-21 : [NLT] … {Sometimes, only in the midst of rough seas can our Lord show Himself. } …
18 Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They were three or four miles£ out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but He called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination!
My Journal for Today: I find it fascinating to read Psalm 107 from this morning’s devotional leading, … a Psalm written by an anonymous psalmist, celebrating God’s deliverance of His people from the captivity in Babylon. And my fascination lies in how well Psalm 107, especially Verses 23-32 almost tells the story of when, centuries later, Jesus sends His disciples out on the waters of the Sea of Galilee into a deadly storm and then He comes out to them walking on water and rescues them from the storm, show them exactly Whom they were following – i.e., God Himself in the flesh. [see the reference passages above from Matt. 14, Mark 6, and John 6 relating some of that story].
Os Hillman, in today’s workplace devotional, is trying to help his readers see that sometimes God has to send those who seek to know Him out into the storms of life so that we can really appreciate and know our Lord through faith. Really the concept of “faith” is somewhat meaningless to us when all is warm and fuzzy and there are no rough seas to negotiate in life. That was the WHY behind Jesus sending His men out onto the lake that night just after they had seen him feed thousands with just a few loaves and fishes. Jesus knew that His disciples really didn’t have enough of a faith picture of Who they were following; so, He sent them out into that storm; and they were able to see Jesus fully as the God-Man He really was.
Have you ever been cast into the storms of life; and when you came out of the other end of the storm, you were able to know God more clearly or through the eyes of faith than ever before? I sure have; and I would have never wanted to go into the storm God led me through; but now I’m so glad I went through it because it really showed me so much more of my God than I would’ve ever seen in drifting on the calm waters of life.
Yes, God does say, “Be still and know that I am God.” [see Ps. 46: 10a] … But at times He has to really show off Whom He is in the storms of life; and I pray that we all seek Him to know Him more deeply than ever from those storms.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I am still in this place this morning; and I do know that You are God; but I’m also grateful for those storms in my life which really showed You to me more clearly than ever. … Amen
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