Helpless Does God Care?
Monday July 14, 2014
Why does God let us struggle? Why doesn't God come to our rescue the moment we experience trouble? Doesn't God care?
These are questions Peter might have been asking one night when he and his friends were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. They'd just been with Jesus and watched him feed 5000 people with just a few loaves and fishes. It was a wonderful miracle and it gave them all great joy. Then Jesus insisted that Peter and his friends get into a boat and cross the lake to a town on the other side. When Jesus had dispersed the crowd He went away by Himself to pray.
The sun went down and in the darkness a storm blew up. Peter and the other disciples of Jesus struggled and struggled with the wind and the waves until about 3am. Where was their miracle working friend Jesus? He'd helped others. Didn't he care that they were about to drown? Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.
About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” (Matthew 14:22-27 NLT)
God knows we need to get to the place where we realize: "I can't"; "Everything I've tried has failed"; "I'm powerless"; "I need help"; "I want help"; "I want something different." It's important that we recognize, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are helpless without God.
In the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous that's the reason the first step says, "we admitted we were powerless and that our lives had become unmanageable." In the Bible it says: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. (Romans 5:6, Isaiah 40:29 NLT)
We cannot do life without God. Let's admit that again today and welcome God's power to rescue us in our weakness.
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