Day 20-Monday, March 4th
John 6:14-21
Waiting for Jesus

With the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, the people needed no further evidence and decided to take matters into their own hands and force Jesus into His rightful place on the throne of Israel. Clearly, they weren’t concerned about how the Romans would respond to the proclamation of a new king of Israel. Jesus, who could heal the sick and feed the multitudes could surely handle the Romans as well. Jesus, who had no intention of becoming an earthly king, slipped away into the mountains by Himself.
After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself. .John 6:14-15 NIV
Meanwhile, the disciples moved back down to the beach to prepare to cross back over the sea before darkness set in. Growing impatient waiting for Jesus to come down out of the mountain, the disciples set off across the Sea of Galilee without Him. Before long, they regretted this decision.
When evening came, His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. John 6:16-18 NIV
Is it possible that Jesus, sitting on the mountain, was watching the storm gather strength as the disciples set off across the lake in the boat? Was He shaking His head as He made His way back down the mountain to the shore? If the disciples had simply waited for Jesus, they wouldn’t have faced this storm alone. Knowing this was an opportunity to grow the faith of these men, Jesus stepped out onto the water.
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” John 6:19-20 NIV

Waiting for God to work is one of the most difficult parts of being a follower of Jesus. Too often, like these disciples, our impatience gets the best of us, and we take off on our own into the unexpected storms thinking that we have it all worked out. Before long, we regret our decisions and wish we had been willing to wait.

Walking on the water, Jesus approaches the boat with the disciples and scares them senseless. Once again, in the stress of the storm, they have forgotten that this is Jesus, the one who changed water into wine, healed the sick, and fed the 5000 just hours earlier. Jesus must speak into their fear to bring them back to reality.

Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. John 6:21 NIV

Notice that these disciples had to make a choice: allow Jesus into the boat and relinquish control or keep rowing into the storm under their own power. They chose Jesus and the problem was solved instantly!

Questions to consider:
Think of a time you were impatient and decided to not wait on God to work in your life? How did that work out? How would this have worked out differently if you had waited on Him?
Take time today and ask God to give you the strength to wait for Him the next time you are facing a difficult circumstance.

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