He Hears Me
“In my distress, I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple, He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears” Psalm 18:6
In Matthew 14, Jesus sent the disciples, some of whom were very able sailors, across the Sea of Galilee ahead of Him. While they were crossing, a storm came up which turned out to be a teaching tool. Jesus came walking across the sea and caught up with the boat. At first, they feared Jesus was a ghost. However, once the Lord had assured them that it was Him, Peter asked Jesus to call him to come to meet Him on the water!
Jesus called Peter and he stepped out of the boat and walked some unspecified distance on the water approaching Jesus.
But then, Peter saw the wind and became scared, and began to sink. Jesus rescued his friend and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” They returned to the boat and the storm stopped after they climbed in.
Peter’s faith to climb out of the boat in the middle of a storm and believe Jesus’ call to come against what his senses and experience told him is amazing. We have no idea how far he walked toward Jesus, but clearly it happened. Peter’s doubting is probably the far more understandable part of the story to us.
David asks the Lord to hear his plea for mercy. He was more than aware that he was undeserving, but also knew the mercy God had granted David in the past. In faith, David reached out to God for help and worships Him pointing to God’s kindness and redemption.
Many of us have lived through storms and trials. It is said that we learn more walking through the valleys than standing on the mountaintops.
Peter and David both had many mountaintop experiences and walked through many valleys. They both reached out and found the Lord to be faithful and true. While it’s not easy to see that in the middle of our storms, I hope we will look to their examples and remember to be thankful for His mercy, faithfulness and love.
“I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer” Psalm 120:1