Let’s take a walk.
This week I have been drawn to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry with His disciples. Specifically I have been drawn to reflect on the various accounts of His feeding of the 5,000, followed by Jesus walking on water.
For the first time, I noticed that the disciples’ hearts really were hardened even as they witnessed Jesus multiply a couple loaves and a few fish. So often miracles happen right in front of my own eyes (and sometimes He even has me participate in them like the disciples in this story), yet my mind doesn’t comprehend the implications of what my eyes see. Often I find myself explaining miracles away until, like the disciples in the boat, I witness firsthand something totally unexplainable. Only then do I truly worship and faithfully believe. I pray that the Lord will do a mighty work in this area of my walk with Him as this year continues.
In the same way, I had never really thought about why Jesus went up on the mountain to pray after He fed so many people with His words and with the little food they had. He also sent his disciples ahead of Him, rather than praying as a group or having them wait. I realized that even Jesus needed to spend some “quiet time” with the Father. His human self needed rejuvenating, he needed God to recharge his spirit. I absolutely love how Jesus sets an example for us even in this way. As believers who want to share the good news of the Gospel, we cannot (and should not) try to continuously pour out onto others. We must make it a habit to share intimate times with God so that he can speak new life and energy into us. If we ourselves aren’t being poured into, how can we effectively pour out hope and love onto others?
I decided to prepare a message focused on these two moments of Christ’s ministry in order to encourage the children I would speak with to keep their eyes fixed solely on Jesus. On Tuesday mornings, our team wakes up bright and early to venture two to three hours away to our sister church in Usulutan, El Salvador. Our first Tuesday here, our hosts wanted one of us to speak to the students at the school in Usulutan, so this week we figured it would go the same way. We planned for our teammate Hannah to share what the Lord had been doing in her heart, and we were excited to hear her speak for the first time.
Not surprisingly, the day did not go like we had planned. I think the Lord enjoys keeping us on our toes :). Since we had not one but three translators come along with us this Tuesday, we were asked to split in pairs and have three people share to different classes at once. Not only were more of us sharing than planned, but we were also speaking to high school students rather than elementary age.
Let me first say that our three translators have hearts of gold and have served us so selflessly. They constantly teach us new ways to say things and all about El Salvador’s beautiful culture. Two of the three with us Tuesday grew up in a bilingual school and have excelled in all things English for many years. Our third translator is a precious and meek teen who knows a little more English than I know Spanish. She and our team have worked very hard to communicate plainly, but we have had trouble getting either message across without the handy help of Google Translate. I have been so impressed with her willingness to learn and serve out of her limited experience but mighty trust in God.
So there we were, standing in the courtyard, being asked to split into three groups when we felt for sure it would be best with just two. The Lord was clearly at work in our new agenda. I paired with our squad leader Allison and our translator would be our young new friend. Immediately I thought to myself oh wow I’m not sure how this is going to go, yet felt confident that I had something the Lord wanted me to share. The unease walking inside the classroom multiplied as our friend asked me hopefully if I could try to speak to the students in Spanish.
I must say I have surely improved in my skills since being in El Salv, but I knew without a doubt that I didn’t know many of the words I would be speaking except maybe Jesús (Jesus), caminar (to walk), and agua (water). While I spoke, I realized that I was just like the Peter I was sharing about. Even though a fly on that classroom wall might say that it went horribly, the Lord made me bold like Peter. He prompted me to step out in faith and to walk with my eyes fixed on Him. Yes, while onlookers (and their super perplexed faces) may have said they understood nothing, God granted me confidence in the Holy Spirit’s ability to work despite a hefty language barrier.
Wednesday night during our evening service, I was also put on the spot to preach, and I knew it was the perfect time to speak of what the Lord had taught me. I got to share with our class of 3rd-5th graders about Jesus walking on water, how we can join Him, and how we can have faith in his miracles. I told them how Jesus immediately calmed the disciple’s fear when they thought He was a ghost, how He immediately rescued Peter when he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to drown, and how we, like Peter, doubt God’s goodness and power.
So let’s take a walk with Jesus on the water. Like Peter, let’s step out in faith knowing that God will never leave us nor forsake us. Let’s remain in awe of his immense power which He displays constantly in miracles. Let us not try to explain away his mighty works so as to have them make sense to us. When the storms of life seem blinding, let us keep our eyes fixed on the One who formed us and knows us down to our very depth. Let us not get tempted and distracted by the things of this world, but may God gift us with a heavenly and eternal perspective. May our first thought be to trust in Him to provide for our every need, and may we remember to return to the mountain and pray so that our Father can renew our minds and strengthen us for further outpouring.
“Spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you have called me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger in the presence we of my Savior.”
~ Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) Artist: Hillsong
Over and out,
Julia
