#5kMay2020 Blog (Day 5)

This morning I thought about reporting a lost item… my motivation.

It gone.

MISSING: Much needed motivation. Last seen on May 4. If you find it, please return immediately to Jeff Polen. Thank you.

I don’t think I was alone. Jodi was also looking less-than-motivated this morning.

“When are you planning to run?” I asked.

“I think I’m going to just walk today.” 

“Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.”

The morning hours passed, but my motivation was still nowhere in sight. Jodi came upstairs from teaching homeschool and I could see it in her eyes… she was feeling zero desire to run or walk.

“Let’s go…” I said.

“For a run?!” 

“Yes. It will make us both feel better…”

She thought for a moment. Then for a moment longer. Her shoulders dropped. She let out a quiet sigh. “Okay.”

So off we went. Were we motivated? No, we were not. But we went anyway.

Something happened in the middle of the run. I don’t know exactly when, and I don’t know exactly how, but somehow I found my motivation. I looked at Jodi. She found hers, as well.

Sometimes you just have to get out there and get it done.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to turn Cinco de Mayo into Two-a-day Tuesday. My motivation must have really returned, because my second run was a little faster, a little further, and a little more fun than the first (though I do truly enjoy running with my wife…)

Daily Run: My first run of the day, with Jodi, was the classic “Triangle Route.” We ran 3.35 miles in 30 minutes and 14 seconds, which was an average pace of 9:01 per mile.

For my second run, I just wanted to get 60 solid minutes of running in. In those 60 minutes, I covered 8.02 miles, which was an average pace of 7:29 per mile.

Daily Bible Reading: Every year, as I am reading Matthew 1 through Acts 4 during the “5k Every Day in the Month of May” challenge, I see something that I have never noticed before. Today I noticed something in Matthew 14 for the first time that was quite profound for me:

…Peter [said to Jesus], “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:28–33, ESV

So much could be said about this passage. In fact, so much has been said… and much of it by me! But I never quite noticed the timeline before.

Peter approached Jesus with this crazy idea, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Wow! Talk about a dreamer! Getting out of the boat and walking to Jesus was Peter’s idea. It was not Jesus’ idea.

Jesus gave him the go-ahead, so Peter stepped out of the boat and he was literally walking on water. Double wow! Can you imagine?! (For the record, I have tried this every time that I visit the Sea of Galilee. I currently have a 0% success rate.)

While Peter was walking towards Jesus, he looked around and realized that there was a crazy storm raging all around him. Focusing on the storm caused him to take his eyes off of Jesus. Once his eyes were no longer fixed on Jesus, he began to sink.

This is where it gets interesting… Peter cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me.” 

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand to save Peter. Immediately. 

The moment that Peter cried out to Jesus, he was rescued. This is important. But I want you try to imagine this moment in your mind. What does that moment look like? Is it peaceful? Is the world still? Is all of the danger gone? If so, you have the wrong picture in mind.

The truth is that Jesus reached out and saved Peter from drowning immediately after Peter cried out to him, yet the circumstances remained exactly as they were the moment before he began to sink. The wind was still whirling. The water was still raging. The fear was still looming. But Peter was safe in the hands of Jesus.

It wasn’t until they got back into the boat that the wind ceased. I never noticed that before.

Why does it matter? It matters because, like Peter, we can experience God’s saving power in our lives in the midst of the terrible circumstances. While His saving happens immediately, the moment that we cry out to Him, the circumstances surrounding us often remain the same. Yes, the wind will likely be calmed in time, but often not right away.

If you, like Peter, have found yourself in the middle of a raging storm, you can cry out to Jesus for help and He will immediately reach out His hand to save you. He may not change the circumstances surrounding you right away, but you can be sure that He is walking with you through them. He is leading you back to the boat. Often, it is only after you arrive where He is leading you that the raging winds will calm, and you will experience the peace that your heart is longing for.

Make no mistake about it. He will save those who cry out to Him. He will lead them to everlasting peace. Often, however, the timeline looks different than we had imagined.