“Then He directed the disciples to
get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent away the
crowds. And after He had dismissed the
multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening,
He was still there alone. But the boat
was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a
mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was
against them. And in the fourth watch
[between 3:00—6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the
sea. And when the disciples saw Him
walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they
screamed out with fright. But instantly
He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I Am! Stop being afraid!” Matthew 14:22-27 AMP
Last
week I shared with you about how God will speak into your life when the
circumstances around you are scary. This
week I would like to encourage you to become even bolder in the face of fearful
things from the verses following Jesus’ command to take courage and stop being
afraid:
Matthew
14:28-29
“And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to
You on the water. He said, Come! So
Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.”
My
Sunday School teachers always portrayed Peter as a bold and impulsive man, yet
even after Jesus told them I AM and to stop being afraid it sounds like Peter
was a bit doubtful. He said, “Lord, if
it is You….” I am like Peter. Sometimes I just need a little more to nudge
me into fully believing but when I do grasp what God is showing me I go
“gun-ho” right along into it. Jesus told
him to “Come!” Peter stepped out of the
boat. Once he stepped out did he
pause? No, he immediately walked 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? And when they
got into the boat, the wind ceased.” Matthew
14:30-32 AMP
Now
we come to the thing that really struck me as odd in the story. What caused Peter to sink? Did he notice the waves? No, he FELT the strong wind and became
afraid. There is that fear again! Peter allowed himself to FEEL the strong wind
and he began to sink. I cannot count the
many times I have allowed the circumstances of my life dictate my actions. Like Peter, when I feel things are not going
right I would like to give up. That is
when I absolutely MUST be like Peter.
What did he do? “…he cried out, Lord, save me from death! –
Instantly Jesus reached out…and held him….”
Peter got his focus back on Who it needed to be on and cried out for
help, and Jesus delivered him. It is
like the phrase that is often used in my church when things look bleak: “But God!”
Somehow that phrase helps me get my focus back on the Truth instead of
the circumstances. Circumstances say
that there is robbery, murders, mayhem, dirty politics, wars, famines and other
such atrocities happening all around us, but Truth dictates that God is still
in control over ALL circumstances. ALL
OF THEM!
The
challenge I put before you today: Do not
allow fear to prevent you from stepping out of your boat, and once you are out
there do not allow circumstances to cause fear well up in your life, go to the
Truth: Jesus! Cry out to Him, and He will reach out, hold
and deliver you.
THOUGHT: It is not necessarily safer to be in God’s
will. Things will happen, but keep your
focus on Him and He will see you through!
