Taking off without Jesus

[toad]

Share with me these Scripture verses from the New Living Translation:

That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination! (John 6:16-21 NLT)

I had a revelation this morning reading these verses of Scripture. It came from the commentary I found in the Life Recovery Bible. Please share this also with me:

“It was a dark and stormy night on Lake Galilee. The disciples were cold, wet, and exhausted from rowing almost four miles in storm tossed waters. They had been impatient and left the safe shores without Jesus, but he came to their rescue anyway, walking on the stormy sea toward their boat! When Jesus got in the boat, he brought them safely to shore. We would be wise to stay with Jesus and his plan for us. Going off on our own will inevitably lead us into some stormy situations. When we leave Jesus behind, however, he will still rescue us if we look to him for help.”
Life Recovery Bible, page 1263

The disciples took off without Jesus. Now why did they do that? He had been in the process of teaching them about the love of the Father for His children. He had healed many. That same day Jesus had ministered to a large crowd of over five thousand, healed many of them, and feed them all. So why did the disciples take off without Him? I don’t have an answer for that question, but I can put myself in their shoes and come up with why I would do something like that, and that is, thinking only of myself. Have you ever had to sit and wait for someone? And you wait, and you wait, and you wait some more. And then finally you get tired of waiting and you leave without them. I am sure many of us have experienced this at some time in our life. For me I don’t even have to wait very long before I get impatient. Just last night as I was waiting for a ride to go the prison down the road where we take AA meetings, I became impatient. I was supposed to meet this guy at 5pm, and at 4:59pm I started wondering. At five sharp I started calling around trying to find his cell phone number. He showed up at about five after five and it was no big deal. When I got home in the evening I found a message on my answering machine where he had called and said he would be just a little late. Here I was starting to come unglued over a few minutes. What I was actually doing was thinking only of myself. I have done the same thing in my spiritual walk with Jesus. There have been times when because of my impatience, I have ventured forward (or what I thought was forward) and walked out of the Light that I had been given. When I get away from the Light, I always stumble. The further from the light, the harder the fall. Today my desire is to be patient and wait for Jesus. Then and only then, is God able to do for me what I could not do for myself……………………….JRE

[cmc]

We would be wise to stay with Jesus and his plan for us. Going off on our own will inevitably lead us into some stormy situations.

I am so glad that not only does He rescue us but he understands that we are sometimes impatient and lacking in the faith we must use to do His will. Timing is everything!! Waiting is one of the hardest things- I remember the story of Jesus as a boy in the temple, sharing with his elders. Perhaps He understands it more than we think... how sometimes we want to get busy and find His will, or do His work. Funny isn't it how we still try to 'go on ahead' all the while thinking that we can do His work in our own strength???
This thread is a very good reminder for me to wait for Him to reveal what He has for me... I have been waiting for what I feel is already too long of a time period... He knows and He has a plan for each and every child of God!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!!

[angelgirl]

Wonderful thread!!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Prayers,
Becky

[best]

Self doubt and fear had me sit and wait rather then go out into the unknown.
I could have started school a year earlier but didn't feel I was able to handle it.
Opportunities to start school had crossed my path twice but I sat and waited because of doubt.
What brought change and had me start school... Such things as thinking that if God brings us to it, He will bring us through it. If God be for me, no one can stand against me. I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.
Psalm 3:5-6:

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

Passage Proverbs 3:5-6:

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

I was brought to the edge of the sea and the Lord was with me.
I am grateful that the Lord was not impatient with me and waited for me to see His truth. I was seeing school as a storm and I needed realize that I was not alone if there was a storm on the horizon.
As the diciples may have sat and said...what shall we do, the Lord is not in sight? They should have waited. For me, the Lord was in sight and I am grateful that He did wait.
Lord I believe but I still need help in my unbelief.
Shall we go or shall we wait?
When I listen to that still soft voice and follow where it speaks, I can't go wrong. Wait...I should wait. Go, I should go. No matter the storm, the Lord will be there.

[toad]

Originally Posted by best

As the diciples may have sat and said...what shall we do, the Lord is not in sight? They should have waited. For me, the Lord was in sight and I am grateful that He did wait.
.

I really appreciate the words that you wrote, I had not thought of it that way in my life, but it is so true. "The Lord was in sight, and I am grateful that He waited."..............toad