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Devotional For The Week – 15 September 2008 Sermon Title: True Worship Desires God’s Way “Then those who were in the boat worshipped him saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ (Matthew 14:33) We worship a God who deserves the highest praise because He is such a personal God who not only comes to His people but takes every opportunity to show us His mercy. God comes to His people The passage captures how God makes special effort to come to us, especially in the midst of the storms of our lives. This is the essence of worship - God’s presence with us in any situation and any hour. In the passage, Jesus walked towards the disciples in the middle of the storm. Similarly, in our weaknesses, we should take courage believing that God will come to us. As 2 Corinthians 12:9 declares, His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. Today, let us examine ourselves. We know we have weaknesses and that we lack courage in the storms but even so, let us be encouraged that God’s grace is sufficient for us and that our God takes every opportunity to come to us. In the storm, do not be look at the difficulty for it will overwhelm you. Look only at Jesus and He will lift you up. Remember the woman who had been stricken by an illness for 12 years (Mark 5). She was instantaneously healed when she reached out in faith to touch the hem of Jesus’ clothes. Today, when you focus on Jesus, you will also find your healing. One thing is for certain in all our situations, God will come to us – He will not leave us without any hope or any source of encouragement. Similarly, we must also represent God to those around us by ministering to them and sharing in their struggle and their difficulty. God takes every opportunity to show us His mercy In our lives, we cannot avoid the storms. The storms in our lives are like personal crises we go through – retrenchment, broken relationships, accidents, and illnesses. Yet through all these, our ultimate assurance is that God hears us and reaches out actively to us in the midst of the storm. In verse 31, Peter impulsively got out off the boat but got distracted by the storm. As fear gripped him, he believed that he was sinking and cried out to the Lord to save him. The Lord immediately reached out with His hand and saved him. This is symbolic of our Lord’s nature – our God is an active God who looks after our welfare and responds to all our needs. God does not ignore us nor take us for granted. We serve a God who knows our needs and like Peter, in our darkest hour when we are sinking, God is every ready to lift us up. In the passage, Peter’s sinking symbolises our hearts getting discouraged by a series of crises. But let us take courage in God for He is not far away. When Peter called out, the Lord immediately reached out and saved him. Peter may have been sinking but our Lord Jesus was not. God is above all our problems. Let us direct our focus and our hope to Jesus and we will stay afloat. In our difficulty, let us turn and see the pierced hands of Jesus on the cross – raised to save the whole of humanity – so that through Him, we will have the path to go to Father God. In all situations, as long as we know Jesus, we will be able to face the storms and uncertainties of life. Let us seek Him constantly and know that our Sovereign God will be able to control the situation. Let us not turn to the left or right but be centred on God who is greater than the situation. In Jesus, we will have a safe path to cross over. Like the disciples, let us affirm that Jesus is truly the Son of God. Today, let us discover how much the Lord has given to us, and has done for us. Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, You are the Truth, the Way and the Life. Today, I call unto You and I know that You will surely answer me and You will make a way for me, even in the wilderness. In the midst of the storm, I want to lift my voice in heartfelt praise and thanks to You, the God of my salvation. Lift me up today, dear Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Based on a message by Rev Lee Yam Kai
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