Take Courage

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

TAKE COURAGE

Matt 14:25-33

25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"  32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

NIV

Having considered the need to be alone with God, just as Jesus had that need, we now can move on to the rest of the narrative. The wind was against them, or we could say the Sea of Galilee was not calm, but stormy with some waves. This would have been quite different than the day we were floating upon the sea as it almost looked like glass, as it was smooth, calm, and wonderful. But it was not like that and the disciples were alone in this boat struggling against the wind to get to shore. Jesus comes to them walking on the water and at first, they thought he was a ghost. Jesus speaks to them and the words he uses echo throughout the scriptures. “Don’t be afraid”. Of course, the reason they should not be afraid is that Jesus told them to “Take courage, it is I”. We will get to Peter and getting out of the boat later, which many preachers have made hay with, but for now, let us consider these words of Jesus. Just as with that boat, life can have some storms, or it can be a struggle. We are told all throughout scripture not to worry, not to be anxious, but rather to trust in the Lord. It takes courage to look adversity in the face and stare it down. Maybe there are some who never need that type of courage, their life is simply a bowl of cherries, or smooth as glass, with not even a ripple, smooth sailing all the way. We have had sometimes like that, but we have also had those times it seems we are going against the flow, or life is buffeting against us. We need courage and that courage comes from the fact that Jesus is walking with us and telling us not to be afraid because it is He. Yes, we will get to the fact that Peter got out and that when they both got in the boat the sea became calm. That is the life we are supposed to have when Jesus is with us in the boat of life. Our life should be calm, without fear, without anxiety, without worry, but rather worshipping Jesus, for He is the Son of God, and He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. This does not mean life will not get stormy from time to time, but we need to remember that Jesus is in our life, in fact, He is our life, He is our boat, our refuge, our fortress, our ever-present help in time of trouble. We cannot look at the storm and become afraid, or despondent because we cannot see the shore, Jesus is walking with us, we can have courage, we are not afraid.