DAY TWO
Give them
something
to eat . . .

When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
MATTHEW 14:15–16

WE HAVE EXPECTATIONS of God, but when pain comes into our world and these expectations go unmet, doubts may begin to surface.

We look for God, but can’t find him. And now you aren’t quite sure what you see.

The disciples weren’t sure what they saw, either.

Jesus failed to meet their expectations. The day Jesus fed the five thousand men he didn’t do what they wanted him to do. He sent them to the boat. Then he dismissed the crowd and ascended a mountainside. It was evening, probably around 6:00 p.m. The storm struck immediately. The sun had scarcely set before typhoon-like winds began to roar.

Note that Jesus sent the disciples out into the storm alone. Even as he was ascending the mountainside, he could feel and hear the gale’s force. Jesus was not ignorant of the storm. He was aware that a torrent was coming that would carpet-bomb the sea’s surface. But he didn’t turn around. The disciples were left to face the storm . . . alone.

The greatest storm that night was not in the sky; it was in the disciples’ hearts. The greatest fear was not from seeing the storm-driven waves; it came from seeing the back of their leader as he left them to face the night with only questions as companions.

It was this fury that the disciples were facing that night. Imagine the incredible strain of bouncing from wave to wave in a tiny fishing vessel. One hour would weary you. Two hours would exhaust you.

Surely Jesus will help us, they thought. They’d seen him still storms like this before. On this same sea, they had awakened him during a storm, and he had commanded the skies to be silent. They’d seen him quiet the wind and soothe the waves. Surely he will come off the mountain.

But he doesn’t. Their arms begin to ache from rowing. Still no sign of Jesus. Three hours. Four hours. The winds rage. The boat bounces. Still no Jesus. Midnight comes. Their eyes search for God—in vain.

By now the disciples have been on the sea for as long as six hours.

All this time they have fought the storm and sought the Master. And, so far, the storm is winning. And the Master is nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?” cried one.

“Has he forgotten us?” yelled another.

“He feeds thousands of strangers and yet leaves us to die?” muttered a third.

The Gospel of Mark adds compelling insight into the disciples’ attitude. “They had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:52 NIV).

What does Mark mean? Simply this. The disciples were mad. They began the evening in a huff. Their hearts were hardened toward Jesus because he fed the multitude. Their preference, remember, had been to “send the crowds away” (Matthew 14:15 NIV). And Jesus had told them to feed the people. But they wouldn’t try. They said it couldn’t be done. They told Jesus to let the people take care of themselves.

But Jesus didn’t. Instead, he chose to bypass the reluctant disciples and use the faith of an anonymous boy. What the disciples said couldn’t be done was done—in spite of them, not through them.

1. It can be difficult to see God’s plan when disappointment and doubts creep into our hearts.

• What does Paul tell us about God’s ways in Romans 11:33?

• What comfort can you draw from the truth of Romans 8:28?

• Why does it help to remember Joseph’s words in Genesis 50:20?

2. The Lord is also asking you to feed the people. Give a few examples of specific ways you can accomplish this in your own life.

The disciples pouted. They sulked. Rather than being amazed at the miracle, they became mad at the Master. After all, they had felt foolish passing out the very bread they said could not be made. Add to that Jesus’ command to go to the boat when they wanted to go to battle, and it’s easier to understand why these guys are burning!

“Now what is Jesus up to, leaving us out on the sea on a night like this?”

It’s 1:00 a.m., no Jesus.

It’s 2:00 a.m., no Jesus.

Peter, Andrew, James, and John have seen storms like this. They are fishermen; the sea is their life. They know the havoc the gale-force winds can wreak. They’ve seen the splintered hulls float to shore. They’ve attended the funerals. They know, better than anyone, that this night could be their last. “Why doesn’t he come?” they sputter.

Finally, he does. “During the fourth watch of the night [3:00 to 6:00 a.m.] Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake” (Matthew 14:25 NIV).

Jesus came. He finally came. But between verse 24—the boat being buffeted by waves—and verse 25—when Jesus appeared—a thousand questions are asked.

Questions you have probably asked, too. Perhaps you know the angst of being suspended between verses 24 and 25. Maybe you’re riding a storm, searching the coastline for a light, a glimmer of hope. You know that Jesus knows what you are going through. You know that he’s aware of your storm. But as hard as you look to find him, you can’t see him. Maybe your heart, like the disciples’ hearts, has been hardened by unmet expectations. Your pleadings for help are salted with angry questions.

3. What does James 1:5–7 say about doubt?

4. Put 1 Timothy 1:18–19 into your own words in the space below.

5. The Lord asks for our trust, even when the path before us seems as impossible as a wind-tossed sea. What does Solomon remind us in Proverbs 3:5?

6. What promise is found in Psalm 37:5–6?

The message? When you can’t see him, trust him. The figure you see is not a ghost. The voice you hear is not the wind.

Jesus is closer than you’ve ever dreamed.