“It is I.” (Matthew 14:27).
I have been reflecting on coincidences. Often things happen in life and I think to myself that a coincidence has occurred. Well, that is jhow I thought before my conversion which occurred through Grace and no merit of my own…
Now, I do not believe in coincidences…
Have you ever thought about how it is that it is so often during the darkest time of a person’s life that that person is able to experience such strong growth…? Well, it is because during times of great darkness, the human soul develops two characteristics quite strongly. And these are: humility and curiosity. And both of these work towards the Good…
You see, when dark times happen and our dreams and
I keep thinking about the miracle of Christ walking on the water…
“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33).
In this story it was the fourth watch of the night. That is the time between 3 and 6 am, when the night is at its darkest. And all night the apostles had been rowing their boat trying to get across that sea. And all night they made no progress. Over and over and over they tried and as the night wore on they became more and more tired. And then, at the darkest part of the night God Himself came and called to them and calmed the storm. And He said, “It is I.” But in the Greek translation of the text, what Christ actually said was “I AM” (YAWEH)…
And hearing THAT. Hearing that it was actually God Himself, Saint Peter jumped out in a flash of hope and quickly began to doubt himself. And so the waves crashed over his head and he was afraid. And Christ did not blame him or call him a coward or criticise him. Instead, He caught him and saved him…
And it occurs to me today that God does this for me all the time… For I have had many dark days…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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