The Wind was against them
Matthew 14:22-36
22 Then He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent away the crowds. 23 And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone. 24 But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch [between 3:00—6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright. 27 But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I Am! Stop being afraid! 28 And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. 29 He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. 30 But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]! 31 Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat knelt and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God! 34 And when they had crossed over to the other side, they went ashore at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent around into all the surrounding country and brought to Him all who were sick 36 And begged Him to let them merely touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were perfectly restored.
I've heard it said that what we do when we face resistance is how we are measured in life. I have further heard "every dead fish floats down-stream". But what does it mean to face resistance? In our mission? our lives? our faith? Jesus faced so much resistance in His short ministry to the extent that even after He was raised back to life, He came back to resistance.
In our lives, we will face it. In fact, James says to "consider it pure joy." (James 1:2) when we do face it because it gives us a chance to become better in our faith and better as human beings. Ministers often use this imagery of Peter to talk about "keeping our eyes on Jesus" or any other message, but I don't want to do that today.
I want to highlight this portion of scripture in Matthew 14, in particular verse 24b (bolded above). As we read in that scripture, after a long day of ministry, Jesus sent the disciples on ahead of Him. For now, let's ignore that Jesus didn't tell them how He would meet them, or when, or even if they should come back for Him. He just said "go" and they did. The scripture says that the disciples faced natural resistance from a storm! Now keep in mind that these men were not novices, like me, on the oar. They were fishermen by trade, many of them, and the rest grew up around the sea. That's why it's astounding to read that after rowing all night and into the early morning, against the wind, they had only made it about half way.
I recently rode my bike, for exercise, on a windy day. Now, unlike the boat they used, my bike is only a dozen pounds, maybe? I am no small man, so maybe 280 lbs with the bike, the gear I was wearing, and myself, but I was being pushed by the wind. I could feel heavy resistance to my pedaling and felt exhausted after I completed the ride. I could tell that the wind was pushing me. So when you have 12 men rowing together trying and trying and trying to get across the sea and having the wind actively fight them all night, I can only imagine how wiped out they all were.
From my experience, and from this scripture, I want to encourage us all with a couple of thoughts.
1) when you feel resistance, lean in and keep going.
It's tempting, especially in 21st century America, where we have a lavish lifestyle, to give up when we encounter pressure and resistance. In fact, many people give up completely when they get any push back at all. That sort of laziness is not how we as believers are supposed to act. The bible tells us that if we are slapped on one cheek, we "turn and offer the other", When we have been forced to give something up, give more, and when we have to go 1 mile, offer to go 2. This isn't a pasificism, it's not hippie faith, it's God telling us to keep going. Sir Isaac Newton famously observed that "objects in motion tend to Stay in motion." That is to say it's naturally harder to start moving than to keep moving. Now that doesn't mean if God tells you to stop you keep going, no! You follow spiritually what God tells you to do. It may be that God wants you to grow deeper in relationship with him or learn a new skill while you are waiting for the next move. Whatever the case, keep your faith moving, lean in to the resistance you feel, and trust God to protect you from disaster!
2) when you can't keep going, just stand your ground and don't yield or go backwards
The bible says in Ephesians 6:13
Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
Sometimes we have to stand our ground and understand that there's more going on than what we can see. We must armor up and stand. That doesn't mean we allow ourselves to be pushed backwards.
When the wind of resistance comes against you, when it feels like everything you do is failing around you, and you have no one to turn to, remember Jesus.
13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [a]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and [b]delight.
- Philippians 2:13