Matthew 14:26-33 Learning to trust Jesus deeper in the storms of life.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried, "It is a ghost!" Matthew 14:26

At our church here in Budapest, I teach an adult Sunday school class on Matthew’s gospel. This week we studied Peter walking on water from Matthew chapter 14. Outside of the Christmas and Easter stories, there are few Biblical texts which have been taught on more often than this one. And rightfully so. Peter, an ordinary man, displays great faith only to have it shattered by the winds and the waves of life, a scenario many of us can relate to.

While studying, my mind was brought back to a similar story in Matthew 8:23-27 which has striking similarities with this week’s passage (Matthew 14:22-33). In both stories, you have the disciples in a boat on a sea that was very familiar to them. And in both stories, the weather turns ugly and the disciples turn fearful. In both stories Jesus proves that He is trustworthy and proves He alone can calm the storm.

However in the first boat-in-a-storm miracle, the disciples are in the boat WITH Jesus. In the second, the disciples are WITHOUT Jesus. He seems far away, even unrecognizable (Matthew 14:26). The more I studied the more convinced I became that it was Jesus’ plan to be with the disciples physically the first time but not the second. I believe Jesus wanted to STRENGHTEN THEIR FAITH IN EVEN GREATER WAYS. Jesus wanted the disciples to learn to trust Him in ever more difficult circumstances.

That is why in the second storm , Jesus was NOT with the disciples. Jesus was hoping that the disciples would remember that He calmed the storm the first time and that they would remember that He had earlier that very evening healed the masses (Matthew 14:14) and fed the 5000 with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:17-21). Therefore even though He was absent, the disciples had plenty of reason to trust Him. I think THE LORD WANTS US TO LEARN THESE SAME LESSONS OF LEARNING TO TRUST IN EVER MORE DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES.

When we are young in our spiritual journey, we readily sense the Lord is near. It seems as if He is always quick to answer prayer, give wisdom and calm the storm. Yet as we continue to walk with Him, at times He seems not near; He seems far away and mysterious. We are jaded by life’s difficulties; we are disappointed by unmet expectations. As a result, our faith easily grows cold. We can relate when the disciples cried, “It is a ghost!” not recognizing Jesus when they saw Him (Matthew 14:26).

After years of walking with the Lord does He seem silent to you? Does He seem more like a ghost than a personal Savior? He was with us in the boat at first so we learn that He is trustworthy. But next He will send us out into the storm alone, so we will learn that He is even MORE trustworthy. Like a new mother whose baby is always near. Yet as the child grows, the child learns to trust even though Mom doesn’t always immediately respond. For if Jesus remained in the boat the second time, the disciples would have never witnessed Him walking on water. And Peter would have never walked on water with Jesus. The faith of the disciples would have remained untested and unstrengthened in a child-like state.




Yet never doubt that He is in fact there. He may seem hidden, nebulous and silent. Yet may we never forget Matthew’s last words of Jesus before He ascended: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18).

You might wonder where it is the Lord will take you as you follow Him. You may wonder what storms await as He calls you into the boat. You might wonder with Lucy and Susan if the Lord is even safe at all. We would be good to remember Mr. Beaver’s reply: “ Of course he isn't safe.....but he's good. He's the King I tell you." - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.



Quentin after his first baseball game as starting center fielder for the Diosd Dodgers. They outlasted the Erd Indians by a score of 9-3.



EB, Rebekah and one of the five puppies that have joined our family this spring.