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Ride the Waves (1)
'Peter walked on the water to Jesus' Matthew 14:29
When things get tough how do you cope? When you get scared, worried or stressed, what or who do you turn to for help? We all develop coping mechanisms when life becomes difficult - some of them helpful, some of them not.
Sometimes we can use unhealthy or dangerous coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol, even eating disorders or self-harming.
It must have been so exciting being a disciple of Jesus - no two days the same, impossible to second guess Jesus; every moment wondering what He was going to say or do next. But all the disciples found that even when hanging out with Jesus 24/7 there were still times when life got a bit scary and stressful.
One time in particular lets us in on the best coping mechanism of all, one we all need to use, one that will never harm us. The disciples were in a boat, awake because they 'were in trouble ... a strong wind had risen and they were fighting heavy waves' (Matt. 14:24 NLT). Then, out of the darkness, appeared Jesus walking on the water. They all freaked out, thinking He was a ghost! 'But Jesus was quick to comfort them: 'Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid' (v. 27).
In this scary, stressy situation all but one disciple chose to stay in the boat. The boat was their coping mechanism. They felt safer there. But 'Peter walked on the water to Jesus' (v. 29). He knew when life gets scary, tough and stressy, the best thing to do is walk towards Jesus.
written by Bob Gass
'Peter walked on the water to Jesus' Matthew 14:29
When things get tough how do you cope? When you get scared, worried or stressed, what or who do you turn to for help? We all develop coping mechanisms when life becomes difficult - some of them helpful, some of them not.
Sometimes we can use unhealthy or dangerous coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol, even eating disorders or self-harming.
It must have been so exciting being a disciple of Jesus - no two days the same, impossible to second guess Jesus; every moment wondering what He was going to say or do next. But all the disciples found that even when hanging out with Jesus 24/7 there were still times when life got a bit scary and stressful.
One time in particular lets us in on the best coping mechanism of all, one we all need to use, one that will never harm us. The disciples were in a boat, awake because they 'were in trouble ... a strong wind had risen and they were fighting heavy waves' (Matt. 14:24 NLT). Then, out of the darkness, appeared Jesus walking on the water. They all freaked out, thinking He was a ghost! 'But Jesus was quick to comfort them: 'Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid' (v. 27).
In this scary, stressy situation all but one disciple chose to stay in the boat. The boat was their coping mechanism. They felt safer there. But 'Peter walked on the water to Jesus' (v. 29). He knew when life gets scary, tough and stressy, the best thing to do is walk towards Jesus.
written by Bob Gass
