Matthew 14:22 – 24 ESV Immediately He (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. And after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
Jesus had just performed one of his greatest miracles and allowed the disciples to participate. Now, as soon as it was over, the Bible mentions three actions; Jesus sends away the disciples and the crowds, He spends time with God the Father, and a storm hits. These scenarios are fairly common in the Bible and it is something Christians should become more familiar with in our lives.
God regularly does incredible things and often includes His people in the event. Once the event is over however, God moves on. God rarely camps out somewhere doing the same thing over and over. It is extremely rare for any miraculous event in the Bible to happen repeatedly, in the same place. The reason for this is the miracle or blessing is usually to prepare God’s people for the next thing. The event is not intended to be a new religious peak, it is a strengthening or a launching point.
Yet, too many times, when God does something awesome, Christians want to stay there and revel in it. Often, they want the event to continue, as if the blessing was the end result. The crowd in this story fell into that temptation. Once they received free food, they wanted Jesus to continue feeding them indefinitely (John 6:26-31). They mistook the purpose of God’s provision. Jesus gave them food so they would trust the message that He had just given them. It was not to create an entitled crowd who just wanted to be catered to.
After dismissing the crowd, Jesus went to pray. He wanted to get His heart and mind grounded on God. When God does something awesome, the devil usually tries to get us to focus on the thing that just happened. That way we give our attention to the miracle/blessing rather than God who did the miracle/blessing. When God does something incredible or supernatural, take time to thank Him and meditate on Him, not what He has done.
Also, Jesus knew that He needed to quiet Himself to prepare for the inevitable counter-strike. When God does a miracle, the devil almost always follows up with an attack. The devil knows that God has prepared you for something and tries to derail God’s plan by distracting you. In this case, a storm came up and the crowd was tempted to try and force Jesus to fulfill their agenda (John 6:15).
After God does something great, expect the enemy to throw something at you. Prepare for it by immediately praying and seeking God so that you will have the strength and vision to stay on course.
Lord, I thank You for allowing me to be a part of what You are doing. Help me to never get caught up in the blessing to the point that I forget about You. Give me the vision to follow You and not be distracted by whatever the devil throws at me.