In high school, we had to take swimming in order to graduate. I can remember my swimming coach, telling me, "Carmen, you will not drown with that life jacket on"....yeah right as I mumbled to myself. Nonetheless, it was the coach's job to get me safely to the other side of the pool. But my fear would not let me move, panic sat in and negative thoughts swirled my mind.
The echo of the coach's words ring in my mind to this day....." I am not going to let you drown, trust me". In a sense, God has repeated those same words over to us more times than we can count. Unfortunately our carnal mind allows, fear to seep in and keep us from doing all that God wants us to do.
In the story with Peter, he saw Jesus from afar off, he knew it was Jesus and not a ghost, he wanted to be able to walk on the water, just like the Master. Yet a hard reality settled in as he began to take his eyes off of Jesus and onto the howling winds and the waves that were forming around him. Walking on water seemed easy until Peter's focus shifted!
We all have been guilty of letting our focus shift onto something more attractive UNTIL the WINDS and the WAVES start to crash in our life. At that point, code red, blue, green and yellow are being yelled out for HELP! Matthew's account says that after Peter recognized that it was Jesus walking on water and not a ghost, he asked Jesus to allow him to walk towards him. "He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]. Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matt. 14:29-31
First of off all Peter had to recognize from the beginning that he could not walk on the water without the help of Jesus. Right? Right! He asked for permission, so he already had the mindset that things were going to be alright. Next he was focused on Jesus until his surroundings became shaky. Faith will cause you to walk in the unknown. It is in that unknown territory that our Faith goes under attack, questioning us if we really heard what God said. (JUST THINK ON THAT). After taking his eyes off of the goal, fear of (you can fill in the blank) failure, lack of assurance, control, just to name a few set in set in. I am sure fear started saying you are not going to make, you are going to drown, just give up and quit.
At the point when it looked like he was going to drown from his own fears, help arrives. Just as he began to loose his footing, Jesus reaches his hand out and helps him. AMAZING, Peter, Peter, Peter.....Did you not notice that you were so close. In fact you were almost there! I like how Jesus tells him "O you of little faith, why did you doubt? "Matt. 14:31b In other words, look Peter you have been with me for a long time, you have seen me perform miracle after miracle. Why are you doubting me now?
It is the same way in our life, we have watched God do miraculous works, yet at the time of our storm, we suppress in our minds, what he has done, what challenges he has helped us to overcome. The next time you feel like fear is taking over, start speaking to your storms, waves and winds, not only tell them "Peace be still", but let your storm know, that when I call on God his hand is nearby to save me! I am a CHAMPION, it has been declared that I will live a VICTORIOUS life, my Jesus is not dead, but he has risen with all power. AND if he brought me through the last trial, you better believe he will bring me through this one!
There is no storm too big, that God can not save you from! Keep the FAITH!
Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 41:10,13;65:21,Matthew 14:22-33
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