Do you see what I see...

For they all saw Him, and were troubled. And immediately He talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. Mark 6:50
The story of Jesus feeding the multitude is widely known, and it goes as follows:

    And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. Mark 6:34-44
    Pretty amazing, right? And after witnessing that miracle surely the disciples knew that this certainly was an act of God, right? They would know that Jesus was Lord and they would believe in Him and never waiver in their faith again, right? Well that is not exactly how this story ends…

    And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. Mark 6:45-52
    The Bible says “straightway”, so immediately after that the disciples entered the ship as Jesus instructed them to do, but after He left them for a while He finds them floundering in the water. And this time they let the circumstances that surround them cloud their vision of another miracle that was taking place.

      We let the world take over and we are so busy just trying to stay afloat. When the Lord shows up in a miraculous way we actually become frightened. We can’t remember all of the times He has taken care of us in the past and the clarity that we need in our lives has been over thrown by the devil. Don’t let satan keep you jaded. When the savior shows up to calm the storm in your life make sure you do not mistake Him for a fearful or foreign object. Fuel your faith with thoughts of all the amazing things He has already done in your life, keep paddling and fix your eyes on the horizon. You will see Him coming.


-PW

In the forth quarter...

For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power. Psalms 21:11-13


I cannot believe I am actually using a football story as a devotional, but I guess if God can make the rocks cry out he can use pig-skin too!

Recently my husband and I were unable to watch the live game of our favorite football team. We decided to record the game and watch it when we returned home. But before we could get home to watch the recorded game we learned the final score and to our surprise our team came out on top. We were so excited a hurried home to watch all of the great plays we had missed. However, this game was no shut-out! Actually it came down to the wire and our favorite team was able to pull off a win in overtime. It was so humorous to me that we were watching what most would call a “nail biter” with a smile on our face. Even when the other team would score we were still content, knowing that in the end we would have the victory. And in that moment, in the corky way that God sometimes speaks to me, I heard Him loud and clear this night: “You already know who has the victory, so keep on smiling.”!

I remember this night often when I feel like Satan has the upper-hand on all that is taking place in the world and in my circumstances. The Lord reminds me that He is still working ALL things for the good, and that I can continue my days with a smile on my face. I have read how this “game’ ends and it’s not a pretty end for ol’ Satan.



And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Rev. 20:10

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor. 15:57

--PW