When Jesus decides to pass by… without stopping

Mark 6:48 “… He meant to pass by them”

It was nightfall. The disciples had earlier witnessed the miracle of the multiplication of food to feed 5000 men. Jesus then went with them to other side of the lake and in the middle of the night, and asked them to make their way back without Him as He wanted to pray.

Interestingly, these were the very disciples whom Jesus sent out in pairs during the day to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. They probably saw manifestations of all sorts and here, in a collective group of at least 12 people, they were terrified by a single figure walking on the water towards them (now, how did they go from hero to zero in a moment?)!

What is important however, is the fact that Jesus neither intended to get on the boat nor rescue them from the headwinds at sea; He meant to pass them by. In fact, His intention was for them to exercise their faith for the miraculous to take place. The same passage of Scripture tells us “they did not understand about the miracle of the loaves, but their hearts were hardened (v52)”. If they did, they would have applied it for their situation.

Dear friend, there will be times when Jesus decides not to step into the boats of our lives so that we can grow in our spiritual authority and power. Learn to recognise those moments and exercise your faith!