A Beacon of Hope in the Storms of Life

If you've ever taken a vacation near an ocean, you might have seen a lighthouse hovering over the shore. Lighthouses have always fascinated me because of the mystery and beauty that surround them. It's truly fascinating to behold such an enormous beacon of light showering its radiant beams over a deep, dark sea. Lighthouses were built for the purpose of helping ships navigate and remain on course when weather conditions made it difficult.  America's first lighthouse was built in 1716 in Boston, Massachusetts—and today's lighthouses can project light as far as 21 miles out to sea! Lighthouses would have been useful in Bible times, as boats were a common way to travel.

On one occasion, Jesus commanded His disciples to enter into a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee without Him. After reaching the middle of the sea, the wind became so strong that it began tossing the disciples' boat among the waves. The darkness of the sky and raging sea must have caused the disciples to lose hope. Suddenly, their eyes caught sight of something—something they thought was a spirit or ghost. As the figure drew closer, Jesus called to them to calm their fears and let them know it was Him.  Imagine how the disciples must have felt to see Jesus not sinking into the water! Peter (one of the disciples), asked the Lord to bid him to come onto the water. Jesus told Peter to come, and Peter began to walk on the water! However, the Bible tells us that Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand to save Peter.

Jesus performed this miracle and many others as recorded in the Bible to prove that He was the Son of God. Miracles are not needed today because we have the Bible to confirm Jesus' identity and purpose. No one today has the ability to walk on water. However, what a valuable lesson we can learn from Peter in this miraculous story. Undoubtedly, storms of life will cause us to feel hopeless and afraid on occasion. As Christians, we have a beacon of light that always shines to help us stay on course. All we must do is keep our minds focused on that light. Jesus is that beacon of hope in the storms of life!

---

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

This document may be copied, on the condition that it will not be republished in print unless otherwise stated below, and will not be used for any commercial purpose, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (4) textual alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden; (5) Some illustrations (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, etc.) are not the intellectual property of Apologetics Press and as such cannot be reproduced from our site without consent from the person or organization that maintains those intellectual rights; (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original written content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken. Further, documents may not be copied without source statements (title, author, journal title), and the address of the publisher and owner of rights, as listed below.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334) 272-8558

http://www.apologeticspress.org