And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
Moving from Matthew 8 to Matthew 9, it’s easy to skip over this simple verse. The account of the two men freed of demonic possession and the miracle of the healed paralytic sit side-by-side in Scripture as moments of the glory of God in Jesus on display!
Between these two miraculous moments, we see that Jesus and His disciples crossed back over the sea. If you recall, their passage across the Sea of Galilee just before the deliverance of the two men involved a storm like no other that caused terror and almost sank them.
What happens when God asks us to take a path that we have been on before? What are our thoughts and how do we emotionally respond when God asks us to return to a place of difficulty and danger? What if Jesus asks us to cross back over a sea of difficulty?
God may not be asking you and I to return to risk facing a second natural disaster, but what happens when He asks us to return to the place where someone hurt us?
There are times in my life where it feels as though God is testing my faith. I made it through forgiving the first time, or I made it through the financial hardship the first time, but here I am again, in the same boat, being asked to cross over the test once more. How will I respond? How will I cross?
Did the disciples trust that they would be fine on the return trip across the sea because the one who calmed the storm was with them, or did they have a sinking feeling in their stomachs that felt like the terror from that day the storms almost over took them?
Not really knowing, but understanding the honest and simple humanity of the disciples, I’d say that there was probably some in the group who trusted and some who crossed in fear of death.
Is God calling you back to face a trauma? Is He calling you to return down a path that almost cost you a lot? is Jesus asking you to cross back over to get back home?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to trust Him even when things did not go so well the last time life took this turn. Perhaps God wants you to focus on the miracle He did to save you rather than the difficulty of this life. Maybe it’s time to return home.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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