“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
Luke 18:7
What does God do when we are waiting out a storm? Does He leave us to our own vices?
The disciples experienced a storm in which they were left alone. (John 6:16-24) Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat and they obeyed Him. They boarded their boat and set out across the lake. While out on the water, a storm developed. It caused strong winds and large waves, tossing them about in the dark of night. Where was Jesus? John says in a distressing phrase, “Jesus had not come to them.” (John 6:17)
What thoughts were stirring in their minds? Jesus had told them to do something, they obeyed and now they were caught in a storm. Why did they have to suffer through such a storm for doing what their Master told them to do? It is a tough lesson to learn that we will not always avoid suffering because we choose to do right. We assume that peace is what always follows obedience.
The disciples had been at sea for many hours. They were in a storm and they were alone. Rowing for nearly four miles (John 6:19) probably left them a little tired and quite scared. I am sure that more than once they scanned the darkness looking for Jesus on the shore. I imagine that they even called out his name. What was taking Jesus so long?
The storms of life will leave us feeling alone and wondering where God has gone. We yell out His name searching through the darkness but it appears He is nowhere around. The waves toss us leaving us to think that we just may drown.
Though the disciples felt alone, Jesus saw their struggles. “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.” (Mark 6:48) He sat on the shore praying. He watched. He waited. He was waiting for the right moment. When He knew the time was right for Him to go to them, He did.
We do not know the reasoning Jesus had for leaving them out there for many hours but we know that God’s timing is perfect. He had a reason for making them wait and for making them endure the storm. Even when we think that God is not present, He sees and hears all things. There are no accidents where God is concerned, and all things that happen only bring us closer to Him.
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