Into The Night

Into the Night

“He saw the disciples straining at the oars and about the fourth

watch of the night, He went out to them, walking on the water.

                                                        Mark 6:48

Leaving Baltimore at 2:30 in the morning on Thursday to be back home for a high school graduation, I spent the next few hours sharing the roads with hundreds of truck drivers who make their living delivering the food and other goods we rely on to stores throughout the country. The night drive left me with a healthy appreciation of the job they do and with absolutely no desire to ever join them again at such a ridiculous hour. But it did remind me of a story in the Bible that occurred at just about the same time of the night.

The disciples had gone ahead of Jesus and ran into some rough conditions on the lake, rowing against the winds and making little progress. Though He was alone on the land, Jesus saw them struggling in the night to make headway. What a perfect picture of Jesus that story paints. He saw them struggling as He sees us in our struggles and difficulties. In the darkest hours of the night, Jesus had His eyes on his disciples making sure that the waves did not overwhelm them. Two thousand years later, Jesus still keeps His faithful eye on His people as they go through the storms of life. David wrote in Psalm 33:18 that “the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.”

And it was into the night of their lives, the fourth watch of the night that began at 3:00 am, during the darkest hours, that Jesus walked on the water to come to their rescue. It is in those darkest times of our lives that we too can expect to see Jesus coming to us to help in our time of need. His words to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid,” still ring true today. In the storms of life, knowing that Jesus is always with us is to be our source of strength and courage to face life’s challenges and troubles with faith and determination.

But the story has an interesting twist, as if written by a modern mystery writer. The Bible records that Jesus, who came out to help them, was “about to pass them by.” That saying has always puzzled me. Why would Jesus pass by the very disciples who needed Him? Wiersbe explains it this way: “Jesus wanted them to recognize Him, trust Him, and invite Him into the ship.” So often we face our problems knowing that Jesus loves us but without ever inviting Him in to the difficult times we are going through. Finding peace in the midst of our storms may be as simple as taking our eyes off the waves and humbly inviting Jesus to come in. He calmed the winds that night and He will do the same for you and I if we invite Him in and trust Him afresh.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church