Senses at Work

Sense means to understand; grasp.

Common Sense = Plain, practical, instinctual, sound perception or judgment of a situation

No Sense = Meaningless or inability to understand, grasp

Nonsense = Make no sense; behaviors, words, or things of no importance or value

“And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side” (Matt 14:22). Jesus knew He was sending the disciples into a storm; it was a faith training session. The twelve saw Jesus miraculously provide a meal that generously fed thousands with a boy’s lunch of fish and bread the day before. What a mountaintop experience! God’s urgings may send you here or there to do this or that, and you see Him move in a mighty way. But in turn, He rewards your obedience with a storm. Struggles often follow life’s highs—exercises for faith to grow and strengthen.

After rowing all night against the storm’s winds and waves, the men were exhausted and fearful. But Jesus saw them through the early morning’s darkness and walked on water to meet them (v. 25). No one can walk on water, no matter how deep or shallow the water is unless it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The disciples feared for their lives because of the storm and maybe thought, why is this happening? Now they were afraid of the shadowy spirit walking on water: “For they all saw Him and were troubled. And immediately He talked with them and saith unto them, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Mark 6:50). We often fear the unknowns in the darkness; they don’t make sense because we’re not looking with spiritual eyes and miss the truth.

Peter answered the unrecognizable figure, saying IF it’s You (Jesus), command me to come to You on the water. Peter knew the Teacher’s voice; he didn’t need to question His words. Yet Jesus graciously said, “Come” (Matt 14:28). At Jesus’ bidding, Peter stepped on the water and walked toward Jesus until his fear of the raging storm around him overpowered the faith that got him out of the boat. He lost sight of Jesus because of his circumstances and began to sink. But God didn’t let him drop like a rock in the sea. As Peter went down, he cried, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus did. When He entered the boat with Peter, the winds and waves stopped at once, and the disciples were amazed. Storms happen, but they also have an ending; God is their maker and ender.

Jesus bids all to “Come”—God wants all humanity saved from sinking into eternal death. He wants everyone to declare about Jesus, like the disciples who worshiped Him that day, saying, “Of a truth, Thou art the Son of God” (v. 33). But many have and will continue to reject Jesus’ invitation and spend eternity in hell instead of heaven.

Do you sometimes miss Jesus’ voice because of being preoccupied with your reasonings, self-doubts, and doubts that God is near, hears, or cares? He is and does. Looking back at the three vocabulary phrases, we can better understand how we sometimes miss our Savior’s activity. Common Sense says: No one can walk on water, but Jesus could, and we can walk above or through life’s stormy waters when He’s with us. No Sense says: Why is this happening? We can’t grasp God’s ways that are far beyond our understanding. And Nonsense says: It’s a ghost. God is long-suffering and wants us to move beyond the things that sometimes make no sense—our reasonings, doubts, and fears—and walk to and with Him.

We can and should trust God with our “Senses.” When you and I do, miracles happen, faith increases, and spiritual growth occurs just as it did for the twelve that day. After the men willingly received Jesus into their ship, they were IMMEDIATELY on the other side of the earlier stormy waters (John 6:21). Jesus will supernaturally move us forward where God wants us when we let Him.