The Spirit's Work
Most everyone knows the Bible story of the disciples crossing over the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida after the feeding of the five thousand.  Jesus had sent them on their way and had gone up into the mountain to pray.  Because of a storm, they spent most of the night trying to row across the sea without success.

During this ordeal, they suddenly saw what they thought was a spirit walking on the water.  He kept walking as if to pass them by.  When they cried out in fear, Jesus immediately told them not to be afraid because it was Him.  When He entered the boat the storm ceased and they were all amazed.

I think we can learn several lessons from this story on how to represent Jesus in this world.

1)  "And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea." (Mark 6:48)

Jesus saw them in their stressful situation but He did not immediately come to their rescue.  If He had, they would have missed out on several very powerful lessons that they learned that night.  He depended on the Father to guide Him in teaching His disciples.

2)  "He cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.  But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out."  (Mark 6:48,49)

Jesus knew they would be fearful and tried to appear as harmless as possible, as if He were going to continue on rather than coming directly at them.  If they had remained fearful, I don't think He would have come to them.  That would only have increased their fears.

3)  "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)

When they cried out, He immediately identified Himself in order to alleviate their fears.

4)  "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on

the water, to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"  (Matthew 14:28-31)

Peter was self assured rather than having his assurance in Jesus.  But when he cried out for help, Jesus immediately responded to help him.

Lessons Learned
What lessons would these men have learned if Jesus had immediately calmed the sea from a distance.  Can you see the disciples patting each other on the back and saying "good job!  We did it!"

What I see in this story, and all the others about Jesus and how He worked, is this:

1)  He always depended on the Father to lead Him.

2)  The Father's wisdom often meant saying or doing things that were not fully understood or not understood at all until a later date.  He did not push them faster than they were able to learn (John 16:12).

3)  Jesus often delayed helping in order to create a larger, more powerful, lesson after people saw their true need.

Jesus is our example.  He even said that we would be able to do greater things than He did (John 14:12).  Jesus put His complete dependence on the Father.  We must do the same and let the Sprit do His work.

Our work is to be open to the Spirit, to love others and to tell them of our experiences.  It is not good for us to push them into things for which they are not ready or to keep silent when the Spirit tells us to speak.  It is the Spirit's work to impress hearts and to teach us all (John 14:26).  We must use wisdom and not harm others when we interact with them (Matthew 10:16).

Self Examination
Do we ever short-circuit God's plans by pushing people to do "good" things that they are not ready to do?  Do we ever sit on the sidelines when the Spirit says "Go!"?  May we all learn the sound of His voice.