Matthew 14:22-33: Immediately Renew, Relieve and Restore

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” - Matthew 14:22-33

What is intriguing is that Jesus seems to have really wanted some time alone: alone from the crowds but also alone from his disciples. The one he wanted to be with was the Father. There was an urgency to this: "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat..."

The problems were still going to be there. The disciples are going to be terrified about a freak storm. The next day the people reassembled after their dismissal by Jesus, with a full complement of sick needing healing. 

After this, he jumped back into his work: "Immediately" he told the disciples to "take courage" and "Immediately" he reached out and took Peter's hand. When he switched back "on" he was right there, renewed by his time with God. 

Jesus knew something that I am slowly becoming aware of: we have enough time to do all the tasks that God wants us to do. There is a lot of pressure to fill our time to overflowing with "worthy" and "good" tasks, to the point where the most important relationships are ragged from wear and tear and neglect. 

Are we brave enough to say no to the friends working with us and the people who we serve to make sure there is enough silence to speak with God? Those who need our help with be preserved by God until we reach them after restoring the key relationship: God's. 

I am convinced that making sure that the inner-most circle of relationships must have times of intentional renewal: with God and our spouses and our families. Any time I think the world will fall apart because of me, I need to check with my significant relations to see if they share that assessment.

He took time to get on the same page with the Father, even though things were still going wrong