Greg Laurie Harvest Daily Devotional

Act now to share the love of Christ in the Middle East
<< Greg Laurie Daily Devotions

Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - October 22, 2014

Bring Him into Your Boat

In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. - (Matthew 14:25)

In Matthew 14, we read about the disciples being tossed by the wind and waves in their boat on the Sea of Galilee. Then Jesus came, walking on the water, in the fourth watch of the night. The fourth watch was the last part of the night, just before dawn. This means the disciples had been at sea — their hands probably blistered and bloodied from toil at the oars — for at least nine hours in this fierce storm. So we see that Jesus came to them at the last conceivable moment.

This reminds us that God’s delays aren’t necessarily His denials. Jesus had heard their first cries for help. He knew what He was doing all along. Why did He wait so long before He intervened? Probably because it took a long time for these men to exhaust their resources and completely trust in Him.

Lifeguards will tell you that often the hardest person to save is the one who is panicking. But when an individual is exhausted, when he or she has no energy left, the lifeguard can pull that person back in to safety. In the same way, sometimes God will allow us to get to the end of our rope, to the end of our resources, so we will finally cling to Him.

The disciples were exhausted and afraid. “[Jesus] said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going” (John 6:20-21). For many of us, that is what Jesus is waiting for. He is waiting for us to say, “I can’t row another second. I can’t go another inch in my own strength. Please Lord, help me. Come on board.” If you will invite Him, He will step into your storm-tossed boat and take control. He will be there for you . . . even on the darkest night, just before dawn.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

SPECIAL OFFER

“Do you value the teaching and encouragement you receive fromA New Beginning with Greg Laurie?

When God doesn’t make sense, when it seems that He is asleep, when it feels like He doesn’t care, we must remind ourselves of His promises. Going back to God’s promises, we find something that we desperately need in those hard times: perspective.

That eternal perspective is the focus of Dr. James Dobson’s book When God Doesn’t Make Sense, which we’re offering as a thank-you to anyone who gives a gift of support to Harvest Ministries this month.



More Greg Laurie Daily Devotions Articles