The year started with a bang.

Unemployment at an all-time low.

The stock market soaring to new heights.

We were buying. We were traveling. We were partying.

And then… we heard it.

The mysterious disease that swept through China, made way to Europe, and finally reached the Americas.

We watched the news with skepticism, praying a little for those affected across the ocean, because – let’s be honest – it did not affect our American way of life. Not then, anyway.

The Roaring 20’s

I heard it at Passion City Church on the first Sunday of the new decade – an allusion to the “Roaring Twenties” – a decade that started the exact same way, with much progress and prosperity, only to end in the Great Depression that impacted the country and the world for many years.

Is it Déjà vu?

Or is the Coronavirus and the quick decline of the world’s economies a sign of the End Times as described by the Savior on Matthew 24 and Luke 21?

To those speculating about God’s calendar for humanity (again), here is the only certainty: No.one.knows.

Not even Jesus knew the Father’s timeline for the end of the church age. (Matthew 24:26)

What we do know is that life as we know it has been interrupted. The boundaries of our comfort zone have been tightened. And even a walk in the park is now deemed as a threat to our common good.

Society is living “in the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, a place which lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.”

The Twilight Zone.

But the heart of God’s children should not dwell in such an uncertain, undefined place. Our hearts should not be moved by what Fox News, CNN or the White House briefings offer us each day. Instead, we should anchor our souls in what we KNOW about our God.

[bctt tweet=”The heart of God’s children should not be moved by what Fox News, CNN or the White House briefings offer us each day. Instead, we should anchor our souls in what we KNOW about our God.” username=”PatHolbrook”]

Our hearts should walk on water.

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

Jesus’ first mass miracle took place in Decapolis, where between ten to fifteen thousand people were fed with two fish and five loaves of bread. (Matthew 14:13-19)

I can only imagine the excitement, as the multitudes watched the fish and bread multiply before their eyes. Yahweh Jireh, their Provider, fed the hungry in an unprecedented display of His glorious provision to the masses.

The disciples’ hearts must have overflowed with joy… and Pride. After all, they were His selected men. The ones who were chosen to walk alongside the Christ.

And so, Jesus called the twelve to come out of their “roaring party” and get on a boat on what would soon become a stormy night. As they get on the boat and the deadly storm started raging, their hearts quickly forgot that they had just witnessed the impossible.

The storm was the Master’s instrument to test the caliber of their faith.

It happens to all of us – We see the bread before our eyes and our faith grows. After all, we can touch it, taste it, feel it. The provision and deliverance are real. We can boldly shout to the world: He provides! He heals! He reigns!

But then, just as He did to the disciples, He takes us out of the material and sends us into the sea of the Unknown. In the dark hour, storms arise and our boat tosses about.

Fear rises within… And our faith wavers.

The eyes that saw the impossible are suddenly blinded by the darkness around… or the deadly pestilence that He promised to protect us from (Psalm 91).

The hands that touched Provision become restless… even though He promised to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

The tongue that proclaimed the miracle can’t even pray… even though He promised that His eyes are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayers (1 Peter 3:12)

We watch the winds and the waves raging, and forget the grand miracle we just witnessed ashore…

In our distress, we see a ‘Ghost’ walking on the water, and we don’t even realize that it is He. The One who just broke the bread and multiplied the fish walks towards our situation, and we don’t even recognize Him.

As our eyes veer from the Savior’s face to focus on the raging sea, our faith tested once again, we forget the bread and the fish. The storm reveals our weakness…

And.we.sink.

[bctt tweet=”As our eyes veer from the Savior’s face to focus on the raging sea, our faith tested once again, we forget the bread and the fish. The storm reveals our weakness… And.we.sink.” username=”PatHolbrook”]

Oh, Lord, my God! I truly understand it! It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve watched You act; our feeble hearts so often betray what we know:

That even when You seem to have left us alone, You’re always there…

That all we have to do is call out to You… “LORD! Save me!”

And hear Your sweet voice whisper in the darkness:

“Take courage!

It is I.

Don’t be afraid.”

Matthew 14:27

Could that be Your invitation – the very purpose for Your church in this storm?

Are you simply calling us from our comfortable homes and material safety to face the sea of uncertainty that surrounds us today with steadfast, unwavering, bold trust in You?

I believe so, Daddy. I do.

Help Your bride shine with unshakeable peace while everyone else trembles in fear. May our faith serve as a beacon of light for those who do not know Jesus, the Hope of Glory.

[bctt tweet=”Help Your bride shine with unshakeable peace while everyone else trembles in fear. May our faith serve as a beacon of light for those who do not know Jesus, the Hope of Glory.” username=”PatHolbrook”]

May this crisis bend their knee in surrender. And as they do, help us stretch our arms in love, and guide them to the only source of everlasting peace and eternal hope.

Amen and amen.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” Isaiah 43:2

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