Immediately they reached their destiny.

John 6:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

There are many miracles in today’s text. Not only did Jesus feed thousands of people with 5 loaves and 2 fish, in doing it there was more left over than when they started, 12 baskets of leftovers remained when all had eaten. But at the end of the text it says:   The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.  Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.  But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”  So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.    Again, within that account there are multiple miracles. First that Jesus walked on the water, not just a little bit but 3 or 4 miles. The miracle though that impressed me in today’s text is that when the disciples received Jesus into the boat, immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I can’t help but to think of another account of Jesus walking on water. Matthew 14:22-33 describes this other time when Jesus walked on the water. This time Peter got out of the boat and walked to Jesus, verses 28-31 tell us what happened:        Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.        Once again there is an immediate result with Jesus.

We too, have an immediate result and response from Jesus. When we acknowledge that we need a savior and that Jesus is that Savior and Lord, He immediately saves us when we cry out to Him. He requires nothing more from us. He doesn’t lecture us or make us promise to change. He immediately takes hold of us and saves us. As in today’s text when we receive Jesus into our life, when we welcome Him in, immediately we are at our destination, we have arrived. We are in the kingdom of heaven. We no longer have to strain against the winds, the waves and the currents of life. We immediately have all that Jesus came to give us. We are immediately saved, redeemed from sin. We are immediately reconciled to God. We can abide and dwell with Him. We are immediately restored to all that God intended for us. We are immediately heirs of the kingdom of heaven with all the rights, privileges and authority that comes with that.

Still even though all of that is ours immediately, without striving or proving ourselves, without earning it or even deserving it, we do have a choice of whether we walk in it or not.  Daily, even moment by moment we need to recognize our need of a Savior. We need to recognize that Jesus is Lord. In today’s text it says:  So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.     We cannot make Jesus king, He is the King of kings. The difference is that when we, like those in today’s text, try to force Jesus to be king, we are trying to make Him rule in the way that pleases us, the way that fits into our doctrines and beliefs. When we receive Jesus as Lord and King, we accept that He is in charge. If Jesus is in the boat there should be no question who the captain is. Yet always there is the choice. We can choose to row and strain against the wind, the waves and the currents or we can have the immediacy of Christ.

The way Jesus delivers us and saves us from the storms of life change throughout are lives and with each individual storm we face. There are times that He will immediately deliver us to our destination, bringing us through the storm in an instant. There are times that He will, as when He saved Peter:  When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.    He will calm the storm.      There are still other times when although the storm may continue to rage, the winds and the waves may not end, He says: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age."   “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Matthew 28:20/ Isaiah 41:10) In those times while we may not always see the immediate results of the kingdom of heaven in our lives, Jesus still is Lord, Savior and King and He himself will shelter, protect and accompany us in all that we face.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites and encourages us saying:  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”    When we take on the yoke of Christ we do it freely, He doesn’t force Himself on us. But when we are yoked to Him, He leads, He guides and directs our steps. We cannot force Jesus to be the king of our own destiny and lifestyle. When we receive Him, He sets and delivers us to the destiny He has for us, a destiny which includes all of the rights, privileges and authority of the kingdom of heaven.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ thank You for the promise that You will never leave or forsake me. Thank You that Your response to me is always immediate. Jesus You are Lord and King. I choose through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to walk each day yoked to You. I look forward to arriving at the destiny that You have for me and I am thankful for the immediate redemption, reconciliation and restoration You have given me.   Amen.