The Fourth Watch
Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them,
walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. Mark 6:48
By David Jeremiah
Once after a busy day, Jesus hurried His disciples onto a boat and sent them across the lake while He retreated to a hillside spot for prayer and solitude. A storm descended, and for hours the disciples strained at their oars in the raging darkness. Jesus didn’t show up to help them until shortly before sunrise. Why did He wait so long?
We don’t know all the reasons, but we recognize the same is true for us. Sometimes the Lord doesn’t seem to show up as quickly as we’d like. Yet our times are in His hands, and He is always perfectly on time. Perhaps the apparent delays are His way of developing our faith, patience, perseverance, prayer habits, endurance, and courage. Sometimes it’s for testimony’s sake or to allow circumstances to align correctly.
If you’re impatient today for the Lord to answer your prayers and relieve your burden, remember the disciples on Galilee’s lake and our Lord’s words to them: “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). Trust His timing and wait patiently on Him.
His wisdom is sublime,
His heart profoundly kind;
God never is before His time,
and never is behind. —J. J. Lynch