Storm-Tamer, Hand-Holder

How good are you at multitasking?

Maybe you’ve heard someone saying that they’re a great multitasker. Maybe you’ve heard it said that men are better at multitasking than women, or vice versa. We tend to think of multitasking as this incredible ability, almost a superpower, of focusing on multiple different goals that we are actively working towards achieving simultaneously. But according to research referenced in MIT’s Sloan Review, “Neurological science has demonstrated that the human brain is incapable of focusing on two things at once”. 

Sorry to break the bad news to those multitasking fans out there! It has been proven that, in fact, the human brain simply doesn’t have the ability to focus properly on two or more tasks or streams of information at the same time.

This principle carries weight in our faith. As human, we are one-track-minded to a fault. But God is often portrayed as being “both and”, rather than “either or”. While we may struggle to come to terms with such seemingly contradictory concepts of God’s multifaceted, “both and” character, the Bible has no shortage of examples of this aspect of God’s nature. He is three and He is one. He is merciful and He is just. He is the Lion and He is the Lamb. He is the Alpha and He is the Omega. 

One beautiful outworking of this paradoxical nature is God’s greatness and His closeness. To demonstrate this, we’ll take a look at a well-known passage from Matthew 14.

 

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.”

 

Countless sermons, articles, and Bible studies have been written about this passage. The struggle to muster faith in the face of crashing waves and howling wind is one with which we are all too familiar. However, while we often focus on Peter and put ourselves in his shoes, I want to take a look at Jesus as He appears in these verses.

 

Storm-Tamer

Let’s not take anything away from it: Jesus walked on water. There’s no trick going on here. It wasn’t just a shallow part of the sea. Jesus was showing His power over creation by walking on the same water that the disciples had been rowing their boat through all night. This shows us that He is in total control; the world He created is still chained to His will.

On top of that, Jesus commanded the storm to cease without even saying a word. Elsewhere, we do see Him command it verbally, but in this case the storm dies down as soon as He climbs into the boat. Again, Jesus shows His sovereignty over situations that are entirely outside of our control; the disciples struggled for hours to combat the swells, and Jesus causes the sea to still without even a word.

It’s no wonder that the disciples worshiped and exclaimed, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

This is God; He is the Storm-Tamer. He has supreme, unparalleled power. He bends, even reshapes reality to His will. Nothing, no matter how big it seems to us or how powerless we are against it, is outside of His control.

 

Hand-Holder

At the very same time, we see a completely different aspect of God’s character. When the disciples saw Jesus coming, they cried out in terror. How does He respond? Not with a laugh. Not with silence. No, understanding His disciples, He reassures them that He is no ghost, but rather the Lord they have gotten to know. Jesus doesn’t leave them in terror, but offers comfort.

When Peter tests Jesus, He invites him to come closer. As Peter’s faith shakes at the sight of the storm, Jesus reaches out and lifts him up. It was Peter’s own decision to step out in the first place, and yet Jesus doesn’t leave him to his own devices as he sinks into the roiling waves. 

In Peter’s time of need, Jesus doesn’t show His power but His compassion. He reaches out His hand and takes Peter to safety. He doesn’t even let Peter wallow in his error; the text tells us that Jesus saved him immediately. This is a God Who cares, a God Who loves, a God Who understands and saves. Jesus didn’t leave Peter to swim on his own, but offers rescue.

 

The God of “Both And”

While we struggle to reconcile two different aspects of God’s character, the Bible has no issue with presenting multiple facets of Who God is side by side. In this short passage, we see Christ, the Son of God, powerful over all things, mighty and strong to save. In the same verses, we see Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, the Lover of our souls, the gentle Saviour; we see Jesus, strong and kind.

When you are facing a storm, take heart knowing that Jesus has the power to bring calm at any moment. And yet, He might not. Sometimes, Jesus will allow the storm to rage long enough for us to cry out and ask Him take us by the hand and save us.

Don’t let your human ability to only focus on one thing at a time rob you of the wonders of God’s nature. See Him for Who He is: infinitely good, inscrutably wonderful, unsearchably vast, unfathomably close.