Counter Attacks Come

Counterattacks come

Matthew 14 shows the devil’s next revengeful counterattack of force, violence and intimidation. Let’s read on to see how Jesus neutralized this one:

(Matthew 14:22–26 DKJV) And immediately Jesus compelled his disciples to get into the boat, and to start out ahead of him to the other side of the lake, while he sent away the crowds. (23) And when he had sent away the crowd, he climbed the mountain privately to pray; and when nightfall came, he was there alone. (24) But the boat was already a long distance from the land, distressed (tortured) by [breaking] waves for the wind was against them. (25) And In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them walking on the sea. (26) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified saying, “It is a spirit“; and they cried out from [their] fear.

This passage describes the next battle in the ongoing war of “force” between the two opposing kingdoms. Jesus was praying; meanwhile, his disciples were close to perishing as they endeavored to follow his instructions. Jesus saved them. However, we learn several very important principles from this clash of opposing forces.

First, although Jesus was their leader, he sent his trainees ahead of himself on the physical journey. Meanwhile, he went ahead of them on the spiritual journey. Jesus’s obedience to the call to pray may have taken him away from being a “hands-on” help to his disciples in their crisis. Yet it gave him opportunity to be a supernatural help in what was in truth a supernatural clash. This immediately gave him the upper hand in the confrontation.

We know from Job chapter one (noting particularly verse 19) that the enemy can kill humans by taking control of the elements—for example wind and lightening. This is how the enemy tried to thwart Jesus’s plan to expand God’s kingdom forcefully on the other side of the lake; he tried to nullify Jesus’s command to his disciples—“Go to the other side of the lake”—by sending a deadly gale.

Jesus’s prayer priority not only prepared him for his next move, but also provided a covering of grace to enable his disciples to receive God’s supernatural help and protection. In this skirmish, Jesus was himself the one on whom that grace came.

Second, we note that when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they cried out because they thought it was a “spirit.” This means that they mistook Jesus for a phantom, specter, or demon. They were right in the sense that Jesus was walking in the spirit. When we look at it like this, it is a revelation: the only one who can walk on water—especially in the midst of a storm—is a spirit, or one completely empowered by a spiritual force that is superior to natural, physical laws.

After prayer and a deep loving meeting with his Father, Jesus moved forward, walking in the spirit. This empowered him to move in the dimension of supernatural support for himself (he was walking on water) and supernatural covering and protection for those he led.

(Matthew 14:27–33 DKJV) But Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be encouraged; I am [the Living God (Exo. 3:14)]; don’t be scared.” (28) And Peter answered him saying, “Lord, if you are He, command me to come to you on the water.” (29) And Jesus said, “Come.” And Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the water to come to Jesus. (30) But when he looked at the power of the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he screamed out, saying, “Lord, save me!” (31) Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (32) And when they had walked back onto the boat, the wind died away. (33) And those in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are God’s son.”

Keep your eyes on Jesus or sink

In this passage, Peter was a disciple of Jesus; he wanted to do what he saw Jesus doing. This is commendable, and we should all follow his example in this. Thankfully we can also learn from Peter’s mistake, and avoid sinking as he began to do in this story.

How did Peter walk on water? First, he received a revelation that Jesus is God; Jesus said to him, “I am.” Then he heard from God through Jesus to “come.” Finally, he stepped out of natural safety onto that word. (It’s obvious from this story that the relative safety of the boat was no permanent security against the forceful satanically empowered storm anyway.)

Why did Peter begin to sink? Was it because the wind was strong or the waves were huge? After all, if the water was perfectly flat and the wind completely calm, walking on water would still be impossible without God’s supernatural help. Therefore, it wasn’t the elements that stopped him staying afloat on the word he heard from his Master. What was it? Peter simply took his eyes off Jesus—the Living Word of God: “But when he looked at the power of the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink …”

To maintain our effectiveness in the times leading up to Jesus’s return, we will need to hear and see things with Jesus. First, we need his teaching as Peter and the huge crowd received on the mountain. (See Mark 6:34 that shows that Jesus taught this crowd as well as fed them).

Next, we need to experience Jesus’s miracles and provision through another person’s ministry. Then in obedience to Jesus’s word, we need to set out to go to where he wants to use us forcefully to expand his kingdom rule. However, when we experience the inevitable counter force, we must keep our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, and have our ears tuned attentively to his voice. This is because only as we continue to step out on a living word from him, fixing our eyes, our attention, and our focus on him, will we be protected from perishing—no matter how threatening the power of the stormy counter attack may be.

Today, I encourage you to have Jesus’s attitude and to learn from Peter. Living for Jesus is following his example in humble obedience to God’s commission and mission for our lives; it is obeying him in expanding his kingdom. But as we do, we also need to expect, and be ready for, the enemy’s inevitable bluffing counter attack. Then, like Peter, step out of your boat, so to speak, trusting only him and his word for all the support you need.