A man that walks on the sea

Dear reader,

I have been one to boast that I have read the bible so many times as a little girl and oh, I think I pretty much know what's it's about and what it says. Especially for the book of John. Even as a young adult, I have had myself read the gospel of John to know it. Except, I realise I wanted to mark that I have read it so I could move to the next.

So, this time I thought, let me do this a little differently. I ventured to start reading the book of John. But this time, I asked God to be with me. I didn’t want to study the word in a hurry. I wanted to do it bit by bit-to really know what God is speaking to my life through the word. How am I supposed to be an imitator of Christ if I don’t really know how he led his life?

Today, I was just continuing from John 6: 15 - 21. I will quote from verse 18:

"…then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So, when they had rowed about 3 or 4 miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But he said to them, 'It is I; do not be afraid'. Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going."

Photo from learn religions

Before this, I was reading about how Jesus fed 5000 men with just 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. How? He gave thanks and they multiplied to be more than enough. He just gave thanks to his Father!   In reading this part, I thought God was just saying, son, if you need to carry out a certain task and you have something but it is not enough, do not worry. Give thanks to God and he will come through for you. He will be exactly what you need in the hour of your need. Just believe in him.

And now this. Jesus walks on water? The next moment I know, he is being pulled into the boat and the moment he gets into it, they are on the land they were going to! That’s miraculous. I don’t remember reading this like I did. This just makes me realise the word of God truly is alive and it is the builder of faith. It is God speaking to us. Letting us know what he thinks of us, what we ought to do and live.

When the storms of life arise, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless that it's too much and there is nothing that could be done. It's easy to think that I can't and this will be the end of me. But Jesus is on the waves reminding us that he is with us. We shouldn’t fear. I want us all to be people who pray prayers like, 'Dear God, may nothing that happen outside of me take away the peace and love that you bring.' because it is this that helps us to navigate through trying times with a light heart.

We need to reach out to God. He is our refugee. Photo credits: Khashayar from Unsplash

When we believe in the power of our saviour, he will take us through it all. He will carry us out of the chaos. We will just realise that we right where we need to be and more. That we have arrived and how we have, the only explanation being, Jesus carried us through. He is powerful.

I just want to encourage you not to rely on sermons and books on spirituality on your faith journey that never ends. Yes, they are good and they help, but there is power, healing, enlightening power in spending time in God's word and meditating on it. Not so many chapters and chunks at a go. But as little as a subsection in a chapter per time and saying Lord, what is it you want to speak to me today? I am listening. Your life will not be the same because it is true what Hebrews 4:12 says '..the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart'. It is not just God speaking to us.

Until next time, say cheese! God loves you!