What does it mean to trust God?

So if I didn't get a chance to say hello before the service, welcome.

My name's Thomas.

I'm the pastor here.

Delighted that you've joined us for worship, especially if you're new.

I was thinking back recently to the birth of my oldest son.

He, it was a while ago now, but having never gone through that experience before,

we didn't know what to expect.

And I remember going in and going through the whole process.

And he was born.

He came out.

They handed him to us.

And he was beautiful.

And we had this moment of sort of bliss and celebration.

But then we noticed that he wasn't crying.

And I remember thinking, that's odd.

Don't they cry?

And then as we looked right before our eyes, he began to change color.

And he went from being a bright pink to becoming increasingly blue.

And I remember somebody calling a code.

And I remember the room filling with people.

And I remember somebody taking him out of our hands.

And I remember us just sort of being off to the side.

And it turned out that he had aspirated a bunch of fluid.

And after a few days in intensive care, he was released to come home with us.

And we're deeply thankful for that.

We realize not every family has that outcome.

But in that moment, when I was standing in the hospital room next to my wife,

who had just delivered our first baby,

I remember up to that point in my life,

I had never felt so much fear and so much powerlessness.

And that struck me.

It stays with me to this day.

I had no idea what was wrong.

I had no ability to help.

I could not protect him.

I could not protect my wife.

I felt completely powerless and useless and afraid and weak.

And experiences like that,

which I know some of you have maybe encountered things like that in your life along the way,

they really expose what we believe.

What we believe about God.

It's easy to say that you trust God when things are calm and when life is going smoothly.

But when the bottom drops out and when it feels like everything's coming apart,

what do we really believe about God?

What do we mean when we say we trust God?

The disciples in Matthew 14, this account that we just heard,

find themselves in a similar situation.

They're terrified and they're powerless.

I want to look at this because I think it shows us several things

that are worth internalizing about what it means to trust God,

not in the calm seasons of life,

but when things start to come apart.

So if you'll join me, let's pray,

and then we will open God's word together.

Our Lord, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

And we thank you that we're not here just to rely on human words or wisdom,

but we're actually here to receive your living word.

And that it alone has the power,

not just to illuminate our path,

but to feed us and to nourish us and to actually change us.

And so, Lord, we pray, just as we sang a little while ago,

we pray that our hearts would be open

and the soil of our hearts would be tilled and softened

and receptive to what you have to say.

And we pray this for your good, for our good,

but ultimately, Lord, for your glory.

And it's in your son's name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So the disciples, if you're familiar with this account at all,

in Matthew chapter 14, they've had a very long day

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

because the disciples have just witnessed this miracle,

this unexpected miracle.

A bunch of people followed Jesus out into the wilderness

and the disciples want to send them home.

And Jesus says, no, you give them something to eat.

We looked at this last week

and they end up feeding thousands of people.

It could have been as many as 15, 20,000 people,

counting women and children.

So they've just seen that.

And then Jesus says, I want you to get on the boat

and I want you to go ahead where we're going.

And I'm going to spend some time praying alone.

And so Jesus leaves them.

He sends them out alone in the boat.

And so they're out for some time, the scripture says.

They spend some time.

By evening, they're probably two or three miles at least

out into the middle of the water.

And then a storm hits.

And it says that the wind is howling.

And then Matthew, when he talks about the waves,

he says that the waves were tormenting their boat.

I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like this

where the waves are just slamming into the side of the boat

and it feels like they're punching the side of the boat.

Like any minute, the boat's going to get swamped.

And it says that they're battling the storm

from evening until the fourth watch.

And if you know anything about timekeeping in the ancient world,

that means they were on the boat battling the storm

for about nine hours.

So I've roughly done anything in my life for nine hours.

And they're battling a storm for nine hours.

And it's worth stopping here and asking, I think,

a pretty important question if we want to understand the text.

Did Jesus know that the storm was going to come

when he told his disciples, actually commanded his disciples

to get in the boat and go out in the water?

Of course he did.

Right?

He's Jesus.

He knew the storm was coming.

And so you'd think, well, wouldn't we,

if he knew the storm was coming,

wouldn't he either stop the storm or wouldn't he say,

hey, let's hold off and then we'll go in the morning

after the storm passes?

No, all he says is, I want you to get in the boat,

go to the other side, I'll meet you there.

I think there's this realization that when we answer that question

and we say, what does it mean?

Well, apparently Jesus sometimes sends us into the storm.

Apparently that's what he was doing.

He was sending them into that storm for a reason.

And I think that's hard to swallow because I think commonly,

especially among, you know, with all due respect,

American evangelicals, there can be this assumption,

and I remember hearing this and coming across this

around the time I came to faith near the end of my time in college,

that if you give your life to Jesus and if you trust Jesus

and if you follow Jesus faithfully, you know,

there's even lots of songs out there in the Christian worship world

that sort of seem to say, well, Jesus is then going to,

he's going to satisfy all my needs.

And if I trust him that life is going to be rich and full,

and there's this sense that when I start following Jesus,

life should get easier.

Suffering should be reduced, right?

The amount of time I spend feeling satisfied

and feeling energized and motivated should go up, right,

because I'm following Jesus.

And isn't that the blessing that I should expect,

following Jesus?

I would suggest that, according to this passage,

that is not what it means to follow Jesus.

What we see here is that the disciples are in the storm

precisely because they obeyed Jesus.

I want to qualify storm.

When we talk about a storm,

we're not talking about just any suffering in life.

We're not talking about just any.

What we're talking about is a situation where obedience,

where trust is hard.

It's a situation that you find yourself in

where following Jesus and obeying Jesus is costly.

They're obeying Jesus, and as a result,

they're in the middle of the storm.

That's what a storm is.

And when you're sitting on a beach on a sunny afternoon,

it's easy to say you trust God.

When the wind and the waves are tearing the boat apart,

it's a very different story.

And so what we see here is that storms

actually create opportunities.

They create opportunities for our faith to grow

and to deepen.

They create opportunities for the superficiality

to be stripped away.

They create opportunities for simple answers

to be abandoned.

There's a stage of growth for many Christians

after you come to faith where simple answers work.

But then you reach a point where you find yourself

in a storm and none of the simple answers work anymore.

And you have to abandon those.

And you often find on the other side of that

an understanding of God and how God works

that is far more nuanced.

That there aren't easy answers to every question.

And that there are some things at the heart of our faith

that are deep, unfathomable mysteries.

Storms create opportunities for our too small view of God

to be blasted apart and displaced

by a much bigger and truer understanding

of who God is.

So storms bring those kinds of opportunities

into our lives.

And, you know, if you read all the great saints

and mystics throughout church history,

they all understood this.

Teresa of Avila, writing in the 16th century,

talks about the qualities of people

who are most spiritually connected to God.

And that's something we all,

that's something I want.

And you think, well, what,

do they read their Bible every day?

Do they pray every day?

Yeah, I mean, probably there's things like that.

But here's what she says.

Here's, just as other people prize gold and jewels,

so these persons prize and desire trials.

For they know quite well

that trials will make them rich.

Rich.

That's worth sitting with for a while.

That's worth contemplating.

Is that something that I could affirm and agree with?

So sometimes Jesus sends us into the storm

because there are things that we can only learn

in the storm.

There are qualities in us

that can only be brought out

on the far side of adversity.

So he does it because he wants us

to become more like him.

But here's the comfort in this.

He sends us into the storm,

but he never sends us alone.

So the first point is,

sometimes Jesus does send us into the storm,

but he never sends us alone.

We see the disciples,

they spend hours battling this storm.

They're exhausted.

And then they look out over the dark water

and they see this figure walking toward them.

And I just love this

because it's such a human response

to the situation, you know.

Up to this point,

they've not been afraid.

You know, they spend a lot of their life

around or on the water.

They kind of know how to handle themselves

to some degree.

But then when they say Jesus

walking toward them on the storm,

then they're terrified, right?

And they're not terrified of the storm.

They're terrified of Jesus

because they think he's a ghost,

which was a very common superstitious belief

back in this day.

And then Jesus speaks.

And you can imagine him,

his voice coming to them

across the water in the darkness.

Do not be afraid.

It's me, right?

Don't be afraid.

Take heart.

And so what we see here,

the second point is this.

Yes, Jesus sends us into the storm,

but Jesus also meets us in the storm.

And that is often where we have

our most powerful encounters of Jesus.

This is an incredibly powerful encounter.

It's a life-changing encounter with Jesus.

The question for us is,

if Jesus is the kind of person,

the kind of God,

who is willing to meet us

in the midst of a raging storm,

can we recognize the presence of Jesus

in the midst of the storm?

Because as we see,

Jesus draws near to the disciples.

The storm has so overwhelmed

their perception

that they not only fail to recognize him,

but they mistake him for another threat.

And have you ever noticed

that this is what fear does to us?

Right?

When you lock in on the things

that you're worried about or afraid of,

when you're ruminating on the things

that cause you fear and anxiety,

that tends to narrow our world.

It tends to narrow our perception.

And it primes us to recognize

and to perceive other things

as being threats.

So it's like it creates this filter

where if I'm in the threat detection mode,

I'm going to tend to see lots of things

as threats,

even things that aren't threats.

Even somebody that might be trying

to rescue me,

I'm going to see that as a threat.

And that's exactly what we see

with the disciples.

So this is why a crisis

can make one person feel closer to God than ever.

And the same crisis can lead another person

to believe that God

has completely abandoned them.

Right?

It deepens one person's faith

and it leads another person

to deconstruct and abandon their faith.

Right?

Because you can become so consumed

by the diagnosis

or the conflict

or the financial pressure

or the future that you can't control

that you struggle to recognize Jesus

even if he's standing

right in front of your face.

And what we've,

some of us have experienced this,

the same person can experience

both in the same day.

Right?

You can go through something

in the morning

and you're like,

that was so faith-building

and that was so encouraging.

And then by that late afternoon

you have another experience

and you're like,

where is God?

Like, I pray,

I never feel God's presence.

And that can be over the course

of about eight hours.

Right?

So if you ever feel that way,

I want you to take comfort

from this passage.

Even though the disciples

fail to recognize Jesus,

that does not stop him

from coming to them.

He still comes.

His presence with them in the storm

is not contingent

on their ability to recognize him.

So if you ever feel this way,

take heart.

Even when we fail to see Jesus,

he is always with us.

It's our ability

to recognize Jesus

that will make the difference

in how we experience

that storm though.

And so it does matter.

And the problem is that

our perception

is simply fragile.

And it's because

our perception,

the way we make sense of things,

hinges on our attention,

what we pay attention to.

If you know anything

about the research

on attention,

that really attention

functions like a spotlight.

Your attention is like a filter,

like to go back

to the earlier image.

So the point is,

we don't see everything.

You only see

what is in the spotlight,

what you're paying attention to,

and you tend to not see

everything else.

So there was a really famous

Harvard study done

on attention

where they brought

a bunch of people in

and had them passing

basketballs back and forth

and had different color shirts.

And they tell participants

to count the number of passes

between these people

and these people.

And at the end,

they bring them together

and they say,

well, how many passes

were there?

And most people get it right.

And then they ask

the real question of the study,

did you see the gorilla?

Yeah, yeah.

It turns out,

right in the middle of the video,

a person in a gorilla suit,

full-size gorilla suit,

comes out and kind of

dances around on stage

and then leaves.

And the vast majority

of participants say,

what gorilla?

It was right in front

of your face.

Why didn't you see it?

I wasn't paying attention to it.

Imagine how your perception

of reality changes

depending on what

you're paying attention to.

What is in that spotlight

and what is outside

of that spotlight

in the dark.

And how does that change

the assumptions you make

about the world,

about threats in your life,

about what you can trust,

about the character

and nature and presence

of God in your life?

It can radically change

depending on what

you're paying attention to.

So whatever holds

our attention

determines our perception

of reality.

You know,

big tech companies know this.

That's why they spend

billions of dollars

trying to figure out

how to better capture

our attention.

And just to reflect

on that for a minute,

the average person

these days spends

about 49 hours a week

engaging with social media

in some form,

meaning engaging

with the content

that the algorithm delivers,

which means we're spending

49 hours a week

on average being formed

by that content.

In other words,

it's determining

what we pay attention to.

The algorithm's single purpose

of its existence

is to figure out

what you tend

to pay attention to

and to give you

more of that.

So what's in the spotlight

and what's outside

of the spotlight?

And if I'm spending

49 hours a week

consuming like

hyper-politicized rhetoric

or self-optimization

life hacks,

then what is my natural

assumption going to be

and what is my natural

ability going to be

when it comes to

seeing Jesus in my life?

And I'm not going to see him

even if he's right there.

So what we need to do

is to think about

what am I paying attention to

and how is that

shaping my ability

to sense and experience

the presence of God

in my life?

I can't be on my phone

all day

and then fire a signal

flare up to heaven

and be like,

well, where's Jesus?

I just can't.

That's unrealistic

understanding

of the limitations

of my own attention,

right?

How do we keep

our attention focused

on Jesus

so that we will be able

to recognize

his presence

in our lives?

Well, the church

has always relied

on things,

tools,

practices

like scripture,

like prayer,

like coming

and gathering

for worship

at least once

if not multiple times

a week.

All of that

is designed

to retrain

our attention

to experience

Christ's presence.

We're not invoking

the presence

of we're not,

that's a pagan

understanding.

He's here with us.

All that we do here

is intended

to attune

our attention

to his presence,

to help us

recognize him

coming toward us.

This is why

monastics

structure their life

around rhythms

of daily prayer

and inspired by that

as Anglicans

we have a wonderful

tool in the toolbox

for this.

It's called

the Book of Common Prayer,

right?

Developed in the

16th century

aimed at this,

helping us

recognize

and attune

ourselves

to the presence

of Christ

in our life.

Right?

So you wake up

in the morning

and instead of

scrolling your email

you begin with prayer.

You focus on Jesus.

Then you go through

your morning

and you're answering email

and you're getting

stressed out

and following me

and then at midday

you come back

and you refocus

on Jesus.

And then you go

through your afternoon

and you're in traffic

and you're thinking

about all the things

you didn't get done

and then in the evening

you refocus

on Jesus.

And then right

before you go to bed

instead of doom scrolling

and stressing about

the state of the world

you refocus

on Jesus.

And again

and again

and again

our attention

is pulled away

and then it comes back

and then it's pulled away

and then it comes back

and that's the purpose

of prayer, right?

Because we're humans

we can't just constantly

attune, right?

If we could

we wouldn't need grace.

But our attention

has to be brought back

again

and again

and again

Christ is here

he's with you

listen.

That's the purpose.

So you don't have to use

the book of common prayer

there are a lot of great apps

and tools out there

but what is your plan?

If you don't have a plan

it's a great place to start.

Imagine if

instead of spending

49 hours a week

being formed

by the algorithm

we allowed the voices

and the wisdom

of the saints

who came before us

to have a say

in what is forming

and shaping

and directing our attention.

How would that change

our experience

of a normal Tuesday?

So this is the second point

so Jesus

sends us sometimes

into the storm

but the good news is

he meets us

in the storm.

But there's a third

and final thing

we need to see here

that I think is arguably

the most important point

of the whole text.

Peter recognizes Jesus

I also love this

because it's so how

I experience faith.

He recognizes Jesus

and he gets this burst of faith.

Right?

And he says

if it's you

you know

this is kind of

a bold request

tell me to come to you

and I will.

He's like

I want to do

what you're doing.

Show me how to do that.

I want to walk on water.

And Jesus says

come on.

And imagine

what that must have been like.

Right?

You're out in the middle

of the ocean.

Have you ever heard

the phrase

thalassophobia?

It's it's

I learned it

because I have it.

It is

it's it's the fear

of extremely

deep dark water.

So like for me

one of my worst fears

would be to be

like the ship

goes down at sea

and I'm just out

treading water

like Titanic style.

You know

I'm like

I'm just kind of

floating on wreckage

and there's just

nothing but like

miles of ocean

below me.

That just makes

my knees weak.

So imagine

now it's not quite

that deep

in this sea

but imagine

it's still pretty deep

and it's at night

and the storm

is raging

and imagine

getting out

of that boat.

I mean

that took

some serious boldness.

Peter gets

out of the boat

one leg

then the other leg

he starts

to come

toward Jesus

and there's

this kind of

pregnant moment

where everybody's

just

he's actually

doing it

right?

But then look

what happens

it says

then Peter

got out of the boat

walked on the water

and came toward Jesus

but when he saw

the winds

right

his attention

shifts

right

he's focusing

on Jesus

and then his

attention shifts

away

and he starts

to focus

on the wind

and the world

narrows

right

and the spotlight

Jesus is in the shadows

and he's spotlighting

the wind

and he begins

to sink

and all he can do

is cry out

Lord save me

he's going down

into the water

save me

right

and then

so we see

right

he has this burst

of faith

but then his

faith falters

for a moment

he's standing

on the water

but then his

attention shifts

his faith melts

he starts to sink

I think this is

extremely crucial

because

if Peter

had simply

gotten out of the boat

and had enough faith

and walked to Jesus

then really

the hero

of this story

would not

be Jesus

it would be Peter

right

and the point

of this message

which could be

preached in any

religious institution

anywhere

would be

be more like Peter

this is a great

example for you

to follow

be more like him

you should

have more faith

and then you'll be able

to do amazing things

but that's not

what happens

this is not

a story

with a moral

that says

be more

like Peter

in this story

Peter fails

his doubt

actually overwhelms

his faith

he has this

burst of faith

but then it

melts away

and doubt

overwhelms him

and he starts

to sink

and he can't

save himself

and all he can do

is cry out

Lord save me

and then I think

this is the most

beautiful word

in the story

immediately

immediately

Jesus reaches out

his hand

takes hold

of him

and lifts

him out

of the depths

right

and that's

when they

really come

to see

who Jesus

is

right

each of

these encounters

brings them

closer and

closer and

closer

and this

happens

and they

say

surely

you must

be

the son

of God

and they

break into

spontaneous

worship

right then

and there

and so

this third

point is

crucial

yes he

sends us

into the

storm

sometimes

he meets

us

in the

storm

but ultimately

Jesus is

the one

who carries

us

through

the storm

the decisive

moment in this

story is not

when Peter

takes hold

of Jesus

it is when

Jesus takes

hold of

Peter

and this

is really

the heart

of the

Christian

faith

and this

is something

that we

will say

again and

again and

again until

it sinks

in

it is not

about the

quality of

our faith

it is not

about the

quantity of

our faith

it is about

the object

of our

faith

the object

of our

faith is

all that

matters

so you might

have a weak

and trembling

faith that

feels like it

is barely

stitched

together

but if you

place that

weak and

stitched

together

faith in

the hands

of a strong

savior

that's enough

that's all

you need

because it's

the savior

not the

strength of

our believing

who saves

us

and this

is a good

reminder

that this

is not

just a

story

about

surviving

difficult

circumstances

in our

lives

it is

about

that

and all

of this

applies

to that

but this

actually

is pointing

to something

beyond

itself

this is a

story that

points us

to the

heart of

the Christian

faith

which is

the good

news

of the

gospel

because the

larger story

of scripture

tells us

that we

are all

caught in

the midst

of a

storm

a kind

of

spiritual

storm

it says

that we're

all sinking

beneath

powers we

cannot

defeat

right

what the

bible calls

sin and

death

that we're

all caught

in that

and we can't

rescue

ourselves

and if it's

left up to us

to do that

our faith is

going to falter

right

our commitments

are going to

be abandoned

we're going to

be pulled

under

and what this

tells us

is that Jesus

is not the

kind of

being who

stands away

at a safe

distance

shouting

instructions

to us

you know

do more

of this

stop doing

that

right

that's not

who we're

dealing with

we're dealing

with a kind

of person

who enters

the storm

who descends

into our

suffering

and death

this is really

what you see

on the cross

you see

Jesus

allowing the

waters to

close over

his head

and then

through his

resurrection

resurrection

the reason

the Christians

celebrated

when they

realized what

had happened

that first

Easter

is because

they realized

what it

meant

he has

broken

the power

of death

he has

overcome

he has

stilled

the storm

and so

now

in

because of

that

everyone

who cries

Lord save

me

is met

by his

saving

hand

immediately

right

when you cry

if you've

never done

that before

and you

were to

pray that

right now

just in

your mind

Lord save

me

I'm ready

immediately

Jesus takes

hold

he's not

waiting for

you know

well a little

more

show me

you really

mean it

as soon

as you

cry out

he takes

hold

and if

we believe

these things

they will

transform

how we

experience

storms

I want to

come back

to that

quote

from

Teresa

of

Avila

can you

imagine

being like

those people

that she

talks about

the people

who prize

and desire

trials

the way

other people

prize gold

and jewels

I mean that

may sound

fanciful

that may

sound

idealistic

I think

it's possible

the next

time you

find yourself

in a storm

that's an

opportunity

to take

some of what

we're talking

about

and to try

to put it

into practice

to recognize

and to say

okay

if I'm

in this

storm

I have

to at

least

ask

is it

possible

that Jesus

has allowed

this to

happen

has allowed

me to

come to

this place

because

there are

things that

he's wanting

to do

in me

sometimes

my wife

and I

will use

the phrase

I feel

like

Jesus

is taking

me

to school

it's like

he just

kind of

shows up

and says

it's time

to go

to school

class

is in

session

and I'm

like

it's the

middle

of the

summer

and he's

like

not on

my

calendar

and he's

like

let's

get to

it

you know

there's

work

he wants

to do

in my

heart

there's

work

he wants

to do

in my

life

sends

me

into

a

storm

right

and so

you

ask

is it

possible

that I'm

in a

storm

right now

because

Jesus

has

called

me

to be

here

and

then

you

draw

comfort

from

the

fact

that

that

can

only

mean

one

thing

that

Jesus

wants

to

meet

me

here

in

a

new

way

he

wants

me

to

encounter

him

here

in

maybe

a

way

that

is

deeper

maybe

a

way

that

like

I

said

before

requires

me

to

let

go

of

some

of

the

simplistic

aspects

of

my

faith

maybe

it

draws

my

attention

to

an

area

of

my

life

where

I've

been

actively

resisting

him

but

he's

wanting

to do

something

he's

wanting

me

to

encounter

him

in

a

new

way

and

ultimately

I

realize

me

getting

through

this

thing

is

not

going

to

hinge

on

me

having

what

it

takes

right

I

think

for

a lot

of

us

men

maybe

women

as

well

I

think

we

have

these

deep

fears

that

can

surface

do

I

have

what

it

takes

or

am

I

worth

loving

am

I

worth

does

anybody

care

about

the

fact

that

I'm

in

this

you

know

and

ultimately

it's

not

about

us

getting

it

right

he

will

still

every

storm

in

our

life

sometimes

he

saves

us

by

calming

the

storm

sometimes

he

saves

us

simply

by

sustaining

us

through

it

you

know

Johnny

Eric

Santata

who

the

woman

who

was

paralyzed

from

the

neck

down

I

just

I've

drawn

so

much

inspiration

from

her

over

the

years

and

one

of

her

phrases

that

always

stays

in

my

mind

is

sometimes

God

allows

what

he

hates

in

order

to

accomplish

what

he

loves

there

are

things

that

God

is

wanting

to

accomplish

so

sometimes

he

saves

us

simply

by

sustaining

us

through

that

hard

thing

but

ultimately

what

scripture

says

is

through

the

resurrection

Jesus

is

going

to

save

us

from

every

storm

the

wind

will

one

day

cease

the

waves

will

one

day

stop

tormenting

the

boat

he'll

wipe

away

every

tear

all

things

will

be

made

new

and

on

that

day

Christ

will

bring

his

people

safely

home

let's

pray

Lord

may

may

these

words

sink

in

what

is

of

you

Lord

may

it

may

it

sink

deeply

especially

for those

of us

who might

be in

a storm

right

now

Lord

we

pray

for

not

just

human

wisdom

or

pat

answers

Lord

we pray

for

encounters

encounter

this

story

is

about

encounter

and

so

for

those

of

us

who

may

be

in

the

midst

of

a

storm

I

pray

Lord

that

there

would

be

the

opportunity

to

encounter

you

right

to

experience

your

presence

in

ways

that

change

us

deeply

Lord

I

pray

that

through

these

experiences

I

think

of

Peter

years

later

writing

his

epistle

telling

his

people

don't

be

surprised

when

the

trial

comes

upon

you

as

though

to

test

you

Lord

may

we

not

be

surprised

may

we

see

in

these

even

these

hard

experiences

of

our

life

may

we

see

your

love

and

your

mercy

may

we

encounter

you

afresh

we

pray

this

in

Jesus

name

Amen