Feeding 5000/Walking on Water

I can't remember a time when I was in mortal danger. Probably the closest I've ever been was when I rolled my dad's '65 Ford into the ditch when I wasn't supposed to drive it at all. In the moment it was a toss-up whether the greater danger was from the accident or my parents.

In ancient times, a bad infection or famine or major storm could result in catastrophic loss of life. Whether someone lived or died was often up in the air from one day to the next.

So when I hear about 5000 people in the wilderness without food, I think, "Just head on over to the Wal-Mart and grab some groceries!" No big deal.

But it was a big deal.

When I've been on a boat in the middle of the storm, I could hardly feel it. Of course, it was a cruise ship. So when I hear about the disciples fearing for their lives in the middle of a storm, I don't really understand the feeling of being on the edge of life and death.

The back to back stories in Matthew 14 communicate something different, though. I think we can have the imagination to understand that the people involved were significantly fearful for their lives in the boat. Food was not a guarantee for the 5000. But there is a difference between their experience and mine.

Jesus was in the wilderness with them.

Jesus was in the storm with them.

It seems sometimes that Jesus is a little harsh with His disciples when He says, "Why did you doubt?" But the reality is that they had witnessed incredible miracles since the beginning of their time with Jesus, but they continued to doubt that He could or would do anything to save them. They had seen that there's nothing that Jesus can't do, but they continued to doubt.

And there's a similarity between their experience and mine.

Jesus is in the wilderness with me.

Jesus is in the storm with me.

I like to define faith as believing that Jesus is who He said He is, and will do what He said He will do. And Jesus has promised that He takes care of those who are faithful to Him. He has promised that His presence through the person of the Spirit would continually be with us. When we are not sure how things will work out, when we are not guaranteed to survive our current circumstances, He is with us, and He has promised that things will work out to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

The very power that fed the 5000, healed the masses, walked on water, calmed the storm, and created it all in the first place dwells with us and works for our good.

So why do we doubt?