What Was He Thinking?

Yesterday, as I look back, was really quite a day:

I never could have wildly guessed it might turn out that way.

Jesus, my good friend, you see, along with all the others

Who often hang around with me, as close as any brothers,

We all were rather tired out, in need of relaxation,

And Jesus had suggested that we take a brief vacation.

And so we headed out to find a quiet calm retreat,

But when we'd rowed across the lake our fate was there to meet

A crowd of people anxious for our Jesus to arrive,

As though without his being there they never would survive.

Well, that, of course, was quite the end of any hope we had

Of solitude of any kind - it sort of made me mad.

But Jesus had compassion on the people as He does

Everywhere we go, it seems.  I think it's just because

He hardly seems to ever care about himself at all

Every time He sees a need or hears a person call.

Well, all day long we spent right there while Jesus healed the ill

And made the blind ones see and caused the lame to leap at will.

And those who could not speak before, because they'd never heard,

Began to praise the Lord above when Jesus spoke the word

Which made their deafness disappear.  In fact that whole long day

Jesus did what He does best: to heal, to teach, and pray

That God's own kingdom, come to earth and His good will be done.

My friends and I, we helped him some until the sinking sun

Was just about an hour away from setting in the west.

Then Jesus put us all, it seems, to one amazing test.

You see, we'd thought the time had come to send the crowd away,

But Jesus said they should be fed, for all of us that day

Had eaten nearly nothing and were rather famished now.

Feed the crowd?  A noble thought.  We stared and wondered how.

About this time a boy showed up who had some scraps of food

To hand to Jesus, who in turn, with smile of gratitude, 

Thanked the lad and then thanked God for something good to eat,

And then He summoned to the crowd for each to take a seat

Upon the grass as we, his friends, dumbfounded though we were, 

Were bid to take the fish from him, or bread if we'd prefer, 

And hand it out to everyone now seated on the ground.

We didn't dare to disobey, and thus we went around

Distributing the food we had which never quite ran out

Until we had too much, in fact.  Then some began to shout

"Jesus is the Lord of Lords, the Promised One, our King!"

I seemed to think they must be right as some began to sing

Hosannas, and I thought perhaps they'd seize him then and there,

While He was busy visiting and maybe unaware,

Proclaiming him Messiah until all at once it seemed

That something held them back to keep in check what they had dreamed.

With staunch resistant silent pose He stood there in their way,

And pointing to the boat He said to us "Now go away,

And I'll dismiss the crowds myself, and after that I'll stay

A while upon this vacant hill to meditate and pray".

Well, that is how it happened, and it puzzled me a lot.

It seemed too much to comprehend; it boggled me in thought.

But to the boat we hurried, and we all began to row,

Talking and surmising as the wind began to blow.

It came up fast and rather strong, no longer calm and still,

But we were up to such a task, we fishermen of skill.

We felt refreshed from eating, and the challenge of the chore

Of heading out across the lake toward the other shore

We welcomed, or at least we did, until the wind became

Strong enough to push us back, and we began to blame

This or that or even Him who'd sent us on the lake.

The harder that we rowed the more we failed, for goodness sake!

What was Jesus thinking when He sent us off ahead?

Why did He not let us stay on shore with him instead?

Then all at once across the waves I spied what looked to me

Like nothing that I'd ever seen, or would ever hope to see -

Upon the waters walking came a human sort of being;

At first I couldn't figure out just what my eyes were seeing

I pointed at the thing I saw and screamed in utter fear;

Despairing that this apparition wouldn't come too near.

What evil phantom from below had come to seal our fate?

We'd left our Jesus far behind, and now it was too late!

And then above the howling shrieks of every windy gust

We heard a peaceful sounding voice which beckoned us to trust.

The voice of Jesus, loud and clear, we could not be mistaken,

Assuring us that it was He - we hadn't been forsaken!

I hardly could believe my ears, but then my faith took hold

Above and far beyond all fear, which made me strong and bold

To go to Jesus through the waves, if really it was He,

And so I shouted Jesus' name, and He called back to me.

I stepped upon the water with my eyes afixed on him,

As though the waves surrounding me were sturdy as a limb.

Then all at once a mighty gust extinguished my belief.

Without a moment's notice I was sinking down in grief!

I only had a second, maybe less, indeed to call:

"Jesus save me!" In a voice that seemed too weak, too small.

But Jesus heard me anyway, and suddenly his hand

Lifted me into the boat, which suddenly hit land!

Instinctively in reverence we on our faces fell,

Speechless in humility with lack of words to tell,

Before this Man called Jesus now, beyond description awed,

We bowed in full amazement at the very Son of God.

It happened all so quickly that it hardly seemed quite real,

But I cannot deny the way this whole thing made me feel

As I recount this story which I now avow to you

Is nothing less and nothing more that what's precisely true.

I've got a lot to ponder for a long, long time to come,

And adding every detail up, it seems somehow the sum

Is greater far than all the parts, and all that I can say

Is simply this:  no matter what may come along your way,

No matter what the circumstance perplexing you and me,

Circumstances you and I would never wish to be,

Which, like a sudden hurricane, may knock us off our feet

And turn what seemed a great success to dreadful, dire defeat,

Even then, no matter what, those words which, from my throat,

Sprang out in desperation as I floundered near the boat:

"Jesus save me!," - those three words, before we even say them,

"Jesus, save me!" - those three words, before we ever pray them,

He hears the instant they are said, or even if they're not -

If we can't even make a sound, He hears the very thought.

He's there to grab us by the hand and rescue instantly; 

I'm quite convinced He'll do for you just as He did for me.

And maybe He's just waiting, watching, hoping we will call;

He longs to be our Savior, and to lift us when we fall,

To fill our troubled hearts with peace if we will simply trust.

And that is what I want to do.  Indeed, in fact, I must.

Photo Credit:
Booshan Navaratnam of Pexels