The Fourth Watch

The silence of God is not the absence of God

Immediately He 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 the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. (Matthew 14:22-25)

For about nine hours, Jesus watched His disciples from the mountain. The wind was against them. The waves were beating their boat. Their arms were failing at the oars. And the One who had sent them out into the storm was watching them struggle but did not come.

These are the ways of God.

Earlier that day, Jesus had fed the 5000 from a few loaves and fish. The crowd had seen the miracle and concluded rightly that He was the Prophet, the Messiah who was to come (John 6:14). They were right about who He was. But they were determined to make Him King on their own terms and in their own time. They wanted to take Him by force and make Him King. They had decided what needed to happen next, and, in their own minds, they were ready to do it. The disciples themselves seem to have been caught up in the same fervor. Mark tells us that Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side (Mark 6:45). He had to force them. They did not want to leave. The Kingdom of God was at hand, the King was here, and the time was now.

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself. (John 6:15)

Jesus had no part in this premature coronation. He sent the crowd away. He compelled His own disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side. Then He went up onto the mountain alone to pray – to be with His Father.

After many hours, He was on the mountain alone and the disciples were out on the lake – struggling.

When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. (Matthew 14:23-24)

The wind rose and the waves crashed. The men who had been ready to enthrone the King a few hours earlier were now straining at the oars in the dark, going almost nowhere. They had been so confident that afternoon. They had known what God should do and when He should do it. They had been ready to reign. Now they were tired, frightened, almost in despair. And from the mountain, Jesus could see them.

He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them … (Mark 6:48)

He saw them. He saw the storm. But He did not come.

He could have stopped the storm at any moment. He could have stopped it from the mountain, with a word, without ever leaving the place where He was praying. But He did not. For nine hours, from about six in the evening until about three in the morning, He watched them struggle, and He let them struggle. He watched the wind drive their boat backward. He watched their oars dip and rise, dip and rise, hour after hour, with little progress. He saw their strength fail. And still He waited.

Did He not love them? He loved them perfectly. Was He distant or distracted? He was watching them. Was He angry with them? He was praying for them. He was on the mountain looking down, and they were on the lake straining at the oars, not knowing He could see them, not knowing He was there.

When you are in the fourth watch of your own night, this is what is most likely to break you: not the wind, or the waves, or the long fight against the oars, but the silence. The sense that no one is watching. The sense that God has forgotten you. The sense that you are alone on a dark lake while the world sleeps. This was the sense the disciples had. And it was wrong. He had not forgotten them. He had not abandoned them. He was on the mountain, with His eye on every wave that struck their boat, and with His prayer rising for them through every hour of the night.

The silence of God is not the absence of God. The waiting of God is not the lack of concern of God. He is watching.

This is one of the most important pictures in the Gospels for those of us who are in a storm. Everything Jesus did perfectly revealed the Father (John 14:9). This was the Father, watching from the mountain, as the wind beat against His children.

These are the ways of God.

Storms are not a strange thing in the Christian life. They are central to it. Scripture says this clearly and repeatedly.

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake … (Philippians 1:29)

It has been “granted” to you. Suffering is not an interruption of grace. It is given as grace.

if we endure, we will also reign with Him … (2 Timothy 2:12)

The disciples in the boat had been ready to reign that very afternoon. Jesus was saying, in effect: not yet. First, the storm.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope … (Romans 5:3-4)

This is the role of suffering in the believer’s life. When we respond rightly, sufferings produce perseverance. Perseverance produces character. Character is the image of the Lord Jesus formed in us. There is no other path. There is no shortcut. The cross comes before the crown. The darkness comes before the glory. The brokenness comes before the true victory. The death comes before the true life.

Paul knew this, and so he wrote:

… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death … (Philippians 3:10)

If you are in a storm right now, there are some things that are true whether you feel them or not.

1. Your storm is not arbitrary.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:29-30)

Your storm may look like an accident. It probably looks like very poor timing. But it is not. The same God who knows the number of your hairs and the days of your life knows this storm. He has measured it. He has shaped it for you the way a tailor shapes a garment to the body of one unique person. The dimensions of it, the duration of it, the timing of it are not random. He is the designer of your storm. And not only your storm. God designs the storms of all His children at once, weaving them together so that your suffering and another’s are not isolated events but part of one wise pattern of His making. He is able to do this. He is God. So you can trust Him. He is in control.

2. Your storm is not constant.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)

Peter says we suffer for “a little while.” There will be times of rest. There will be times when the wind dies down and the boat moves easily again. The storm will not be the whole of your life.

3. Your storm is not too big.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The very fact that you are in this storm and have not been destroyed by it is God’s testimony that you are able, by His grace, to bear it. You will be able to come through.

4. God will often not deliver you from the storm. But He will give you comfort in it.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction … (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

The cup of His comfort overflows in the middle of the storm, not after it. He is with you in the boat before He stops the wind, and very often He never stops the wind at all. He gives Himself instead.

5. When you have come through your storm, you will be a source of life, courage and hope to others.

[He] comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

The comfort God gives you in this storm is not given to you alone. He is preparing you, in the midst of your pain, to sit one day with another sufferer and speak words that only someone who has been through it can speak. Your tears are not wasted. The places where He has met you in your weakness will become the places from which you minister His strength to someone else.

6. One day every storm will end.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

There will be no more wind. No more waves. No more straining at the oars. No more fourth watch, because there will be no more night.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

God’s glory is the end of the story. Not the storm or the long night in the boat. Not the silence of the mountain. The end of the story is His face and His own hand wiping the last tear from your eye. Every wave you have battled, every hour you thought you would not make it through, every tear no one else saw – He saw it, He remembers it, and He Himself will wipe it away. The afflictions that feel so heavy now will look small in that light, not because they were not real but because the glory will be so much greater. So hold on. The glory is coming!

7. The benefit of the storm is not automatic.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (Hebrews 12:11-13)

The storm itself does not change you. How you respond to the storm changes you. Storms can crush a soul as easily as they can refine one, and very often they crush people, because their response is wrong. Self-pity, anger at God, anger at others, bitterness at our lives, giving up – these responses do not bring forth character. In this way, many people are hurt by their storms, not refined by them.

So dare to respond differently. Respond with brokenness. Respond with deeper submission to Christ. Respond with a deeper reliance on His Presence with you. Look at Him. Trust Him.

He is on the mountain. He is watching. His eye has not left you. His hand is wise. His heart is set on you in love. He is with you. He is not surprised by the storm, and He is not late, even if He waits until the fourth watch.

These are the ways of God.

So, look at Him.

Look at Him in the storm.

Praise Him in the storm.

Worship Him in the storm.

Thank Him in the storm.

Trust Him in the storm.

Submit to Him in the storm.

Love Him in the storm.

Receive His love in the storm.

Receive His comfort in the storm.

Draw near to Him in the storm.

Rest in Him in the storm.

He is good. Whatever He allows, He is good. His ultimate purposes for you are good. He is on the mountain. He is watching. And He is coming.

In the fourth watch of the night, He will come to you, walking on the very water that is breaking your boat. The storm itself is the path He takes to reach you.

Before turning to the prayer that follows, pause for a moment. Talk to Him about the storms He has allowed in your life. Perhaps you are in one now. Tell Him what you have been struggling with. Tell Him you have not always responded the right way. He already knows this but tell Him. Ask Him to help you. Ask Him to bring you to the end of your own self-will. Ask Him for deeper repentance and for a deeper, face-to-face revelation of His Son.

Let’s pray together.

Father, at times we feel tired. We feel like giving up. We have to admit to You that we have yielded to self-pity and anger. We have been angry with You. We have been bitter at others, blaming them for our pain, when in truth our sufferings did not come from the hand of any man but ultimately from Your hand. And because You have allowed these things, we know that they are consistent with Your love. They are not the expression of Your hatred of us. They are not Your abandonment of us. It is not that You are angry with us, thrusting us into terrible fires. Just the opposite. These difficulties, trials and afflictions come from the loving hand of our Father. A Father who loves us. A Father who is for us. A Father who has great and eternal purposes for us in our future.

Father, by the truth of Your Word, we are set free. We are set free from anger. We are set free from self-pity. We are set free from pain. We are set free from bitterness. We are set free from defeat, from giving up. By the power of Your Word, we are strengthened to endure. We are strengthened to persevere, knowing that as we look at You and persevere in the midst of the storm, You are bringing forth character in us. That is why we are here. That is why we are on this earth. That is why You allow us to go through life in this veil of tears. It is for Your glory and it is for our good.

Father, we see the arrogance in our lives. We see the pride. We see the self-love. We see the stubbornness for our own agendas. And we recognize, Lord, that You are wise. We did need this storm. And we will need more. We know You will allow more storms. But You will not crush us with them. You will not leave us in an unending storm that destroys us. But You will allow them, because You are wise, gentle, and loving, and because we still need them.

And so, Father, we want to respond well. We want to respond with repentance. We want to respond with a deeper recognition of how utterly bankrupt we are apart from You. We throw ourselves more fully upon You, upon Your grace, at Your feet. As You are looking down at us, we look back at You. As we look at Your face we are strengthened. We are changed as we see You, even in the midst of affliction.

Have Your way in our lives, Father. This is our desire. We know You are going to do it anyway, whether we desire it or not, but, Lord, we want to respond properly. Lord, have Your way. Have Your way in us. Change us. Whatever it takes, change us, because our eyes are set not on this life but on eternity. That is what we value. That is what we see. We see You. We see our union with You in eternity. And so have Your way, Father. Not our will, but Yours be done.

And we know that even in the midst of all of this, You have promised You will never leave us nor forsake us. You will be watching us. You will be with us. And by Your grace, we will endure. Thank You!

Truly Lord, You are nothing but good. Whatever You allow, You are nothing but good. Your ultimate purposes are nothing but good. Totally good. Incredibly good. Infinitely good. Eternally good. So we rest in Your goodness. We rest in Your love. In the storm, we rest. In the storm, we have peace. In the storm, we have Your comfort. You are nothing but good to us.

Thank You, Lord Jesus. You will never leave us nor forsake us. Thank You. You will present us before Your throne on the last day, glorious, without spot, without blemish, filled with joy and glory. Thank You for Your goodness. Thank You for Your wisdom. Thank You for the storms You have allowed. Thank You for the storms we are in now. Thank You for the storms that are still to come, because we know there is nothing but good behind those storms, nothing but good in the midst of them, and nothing but good that those storms will produce.

Father, we lay down our rebellion. We lay down our stubbornness. We lay down our anger. We give ourselves to You. Great One, Wise One, utterly Good One, we give our lives to You. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.