From the desk of Pastor Ben
A Display of Divine Knowledge – Part 2

“But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea.”         (Matthew 14:24-25)

While in their storm-tossed boat, the apostles should have taken joyous comfort in David’s words: “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there, Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me” (Psalm 139:8-10). They should also have recalled other promises from the psalmist, such as: “The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble (9:9). And, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge (18:2).

However, in this time of emergency, the apostles forgot those psalms and other Old Testament instances of God’s mercies toward His people (Genesis 22:13; Exodus 3:7).
As would soon be evident, they had no confidence that God would remember their circumstance, as He had numerous times for His people in the past. Jesus’ men even forgot His words from the Sermon on the Mount that God knew all their needs before they asked (Matthew 6:32) and was concerned about life’s smallest details (Matthew 10:29-30).

But the Lord utilized the very danger that threatened the apostles when “He came to them, walking on the sea.” He couldn’t see them from the mountain or through the storm, but He knew right where they were. His divine awareness was more than sufficient (Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13).

Ask Yourself:
How tempting it can be to forgo our need for reading and study, for meditating in the Word. But how have the reminders of Scripture sustained you at times when you needed them most? And how else would you have known them if not from frequent exposure?