Walking with Jesus

I'm fairly sure that everyone reading this has heard of Jesus and (briefly) Peter walking on water. A fierce storm came up while Jesus was on land praying and the disciples were being tossed about in a boat. Jesus walked out on the water and the disciples were even more afraid as they thought he was a ghost.

We talked about this story in our women's group at church last week. We compared the versions in Matthew and Mark, which vary a bit. For one thing, Mark's version doesn't mention Peter. For another, in Mark 6:48, we read that Jesus "was about to pass them by".

What a curious thing for him to do! The disciples are at risk of capsizing and he goes out toward them, but then he is going to "pass them by". Why would he do such a thing?

Could it be that Jesus is always with us ready to help, but is waiting for us to ask (as they did in Mark)? Could it be that he seems to be absent because we don't seek him? 

If you've never read Corrie ten Boom's book "The Hiding Place" about her experiences during the Nazi occupation of Holland, I highly recommend it. She was a woman who demonstrated great faith at a time when doubts had every reason to overwhelm her. One of the things Corrie said that has always stuck with me is this quote:

Many years ago I heard of an old Dutchman and his young son. They had to walk home at night across the polders, the dried sea bottom where the water had been pumped out and held back by dikes. The little boy was afraid, for he knew there were still deep pockets of water and many patches of quicksand on the polders. All they had to give them light on the walk was a small kerosene lantern. ‘Please, father,’ the boy begged, ‘don’t make me walk out there. It is so dark, and the lamp only gives enough light for one step at a time.’

The father took his son’s hand in his own. ‘That’s right, but one step at a time is all the light we need. And if we walk in the light we have, we have enough light for the next step. However, if we stand still, waiting for enough light to see the entire way home, then even the light we have will burn out, and we will be left in the dark.’ And so they made their way home safely, one step at a time, walking in the light. Every obstacle, every frustration, can become an opportunity if we trust God and walk in the light we have. –

– Corrie ten Boom.