It was the end of 2015. A year that was not without its challenges,
ups and downs, highs and lows, ebbs and flows - fireworks. But through it all…Jesus.
Yes, Jesus was always at my side, even when it did not feel
as though He was nearby, He was right beside me and when I was distracted and my
focus shifted from Him to other things, He was still there. He was and is my
Paraclete – He’s always at my side. In those days, there was so much going on
that I often had to remind myself of that truth.
“So, what’s in store for 2016?” This was the question I
posed to God.
It wasn’t an unreasonable inquiry. After all I really
thought that 2015 would have seen the back end of the storm I was still swirling
around in. Now with only one more day to the new year I was not sure.
“But you know what?” I asked aloud, then responded, “Though
I may not know, God knows. He is God and if He wants to He can make this storm
cease immediately with just one word. Right?”
Just then, one of my favourite verses of Scripture came to
mind…
“For I know the thoughts and
plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and
peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)
God was reminding me that He indeed knows…
What a great promise! Do you understand what that means?
That means that we can rest assured that God already knows what He has planned
for us, for you and for me. Knowing that it is a good plan should give us great
hope for our future no matter what we may be going through.
“Yes” I thought, “I know that” but, as I’m sure you can
relate, I wanted more than that, I wanted God to give me details.
I knew His plan for me was a good plan. I knew that I could expect a great outcome, a victorious outcome. Yet, I wanted more. Greedy?
Perhaps. Curious? Maybe a little, nahhh, a lot.
Then I got what I asked for, I got more. Not exactly what I
was expecting but it was more. God led me to Matthew 14:25-31. Read it now for
yourself. Okay, I’ll give you a brief synopsis.
Matthew 14:25-31 tells us about the time the disciples, caught in a storm, saw Jesus walking on the sea. They thought He was a ghost and were afraid, but Jesus told them, “Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!” (AMP). Then, Peter told Jesus that if it was really Him command him to come to Him on the water. Jesus, at that point said “Come!” and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus.
“But when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid” (verse 30 – JUB). The Bible goes on to tell us that at that moment Peter
began to sink, Jesus reached out, caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (verse 31 – AMP)
“Okay God,” I said, “I’ve read the Scripture, what are You
telling me?”
Now, I had read this passage many times. I heard it explained from the pulpit on several occasions but I had never seen what God was about to reveal to me. Perhaps you already know it but it was new to me, and I feel moved to share it with you today anyway.
“But when he saw the wind”…”when he saw the wind?” I mulled.
Do you remember the little poem we used to say as children?
The first two lines go like this, “Who can see the wind? Neither I nor you”.
Exactly! We cannot see the wind! We can feel it, see the effects of it but we
cannot see the wind with our natural eyes. Also, in the natural, we can wade
into water, but we cannot walk on water. So, what was really going on here?
What was God telling me?
Verse 25 says, “And in the fourth watch [between 3:00 – 6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.” (AMP)
The fourth watch, the hours just before dawn – it’s darkest
before the dawn. It was in the darkest hours of the storm when Jesus came to
them, and it’s when He comes to us.
Just before this, Jesus had been up in the hills by Himself
praying – He had been in the Presence of God for hours even while the storm was
raging (see verse 23). Jesus’ focus was only God. Jesu was already in the realm
of the supernatural. His faith was well bolstered from being in God’s Presence,
for faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God (see Romans 10:17).
Jesus was able to confidently stand on the Word of God. That was Jesus’ state
of being by the time the disciples saw Him – Jesus was walking in the
supernatural realm.
When Peter called out to Jesus in the midst of the storm, “command me to come to You on the water”,
Peter was asking Jesus to cause him to do what He was doing – walking by faith
on the Word of God. Jesus’ “Come!” was an invitation for Peter to step into the
supernatural with Him. And Peter accepted Jesus’ invitation. He stepped out of
his comfort zone, his place of security (the boat) and into the supernatural
realm.
Jesus had given Peter one word on which to place his faith,
“Come!”, and clinging to that word from Jesus and trusting in Jesus, the Word
of God (see John 1:1&14), he stepped onto the water and into the
supernatural.
In the midst of this ferocious storm, all Peter received was
one word from Jesus. Think about this for a moment. What word have you been
given?
I had received so many promises from Jesus in the midst of
this storm I was in, yet when I asked for more – just a little something more –
“Come!”, I too received this simple invitation. “Come!” That’s all I got before
the dawn. Perhaps that’s all you’re getting too?
Then God said to me, “There is a difference between you and
Peter. Peter did not have this story, he was living it as it happened, but you
have it as an example, a lesson. Peter stepped into the supernatural and when
He saw the wind, he tried to understand what he was seeing with his own human
understanding. He stopped focusing on the Word, on Jesus, and he began to
sink.”
I could only respond with an audible breath of “Ooooo”
Proverbs 3:5 is very clear, “Trust
in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (NLT)
I understood what God was revealing to me, and I believed!
I believed that I was in the fourth watch when it appears to
be darkest, belying the fact that dawn is fast approaching. I stepped out of my
boat and into the supernatural.
I was determined to keep focused on Jesus and the Word He gave to me. I did not want to sink under the waves like Peter.
I was determined that no matter what I saw, heard, felt,
tasted or smelled, I would not depend on my own understanding and natural human
reasoning.
I choose to believe that Jesus is my Restorer. I choose to
believe that Jesus is all that I need Him to be. I choose to trust Jesus
completely to do what He says He will do.
Beloved, I have absolutely no doubt that Jesus wants me to
share this revelation with you today. I pray that you will accept His
invitation to “Come!” out of your boat and step into the supernatural.
Shelley Johnson “Let’s get personal: Step into the
Supernatural...” © 2015 revisited June 9, 2025
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