Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake.
He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.
They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.
They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.
Mark 6:47-53
Have you ever read a familiar story from the Bible and had something brand new jump off the page?
I was reading through Mark 6 earlier this week and saw something I don’t ever recall noticing before.
In Mark 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and then, in the very next story, He is walking on water to meet His disciples in the boat. Two of the most memorable and well-known stories from Jesus’s life—back-to-back in the Bible.
Take a look at what happens when Jesus gets to the boat: “Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed.”
Not surprising, I suppose. A man walking on water in the middle of a storm right up to their boat and climbing in… amazed seems like the right word to describe what had just happened. After all, that’s crazy, right?
But look at the very next sentence in the text: “They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves.”
The Holy Spirit tells us that the disciples were amazed at Jesus walking on the water because they did not understand what had happened when Jesus took the loaves and fish from the young boy and fed 5,000 men with it.
What does that mean, do you think? “They did not understand about the loaves.”
I am not entirely sure I can fully explain or understand the full weight of that statement.
But I can understand one thing, because I see it in my own life over and over and over again.
The disciples witnessed firsthand Jesus’s power and might. And yet, they failed to grasp it. They missed the power in the miracle.
And as a result, they underestimated the true might and glory of Jesus.
And that, my friends, is something we may be guilty of every single day.
We underestimate God’s power and might (and love and grace) when we don’t fully see and understand His miracles that have taken place around us.
But when we open our eyes to ALL that God has accomplished in the past, ALL that He has already done in our hearts and lives, and ALL that He is doing today… we begin to see His power more and more.
And when we do, we rely on Him more.
We cry out for His goodness more. And we align our lives with the Almighty God who created the stars above and the oceans below.
This is the God who walks alongside us!
And the more we understand His miracles each day, the more trust we place in Him.
Prayer
Jesus, open my eyes to see Your power at work all around me. Help me notice and remember the miracles You have done in my life so I may trust You more fully today. Strengthen my faith, expand my vision, and keep my heart aligned with Yours. Amen.