Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Today, I'm still in the story in Matthew 14. Here's my question for today. After Jesus scraped Peter off the water and put him back in the boat, then the storm calmed. NKJV says  the winds ceased.  Then, the next verse says they worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." Was it Jesus' dramatic rescue of Peter? Or was it that the storm stopped once Jesus got in the boat with them? He is the Prince of Peace after all.  Either way, now all of a sudden they see Him for who He is. That's interesting to me because if you thumb back through the previous chapters you'll see he's already fed 5000 with a few loaves of bread, healed a man with a withered hand, made a mute man speak, healed two blind men, and set to demon-possessed men free from their torment. None of those times did the disciples worship Him and recognize Him for who He was.  Why do you think that was? Hadn't they seen all these miracles? Or at least heard about some of them? Yet ...

  When we think about Jesus sending out His disciples the12 being sent out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons come to mind. Maybe we think about the 70 He sent out later on. Or perhaps we even think about the Great Commission and how we are all sent to make disciples of all nations.  What we don't  think about is Matthew 14, when Jesus sent His disciples into a storm. We could argue that He didn't know there was a storm coming - but since He is Jesus - that argument won't hold up. In Matthew 14:22 Jesus "made His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while He sent the people home." (NLT) After they boarded the boat and headed out across the sea, Jesus spent some time alone in prayer. While He was praying, the disciples found themselves on the sea, at night, fighting a bad storm. He knew there was a storm building - but He sent them anyway.  Of course, about three in the morning, He came to them walking on th...