"Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
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 came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." (emphasis added by me)
"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Such a simple question, but with the greatest of ramifications.
Doubt was the reason Peter couldn't walk on water, but the thing that fascinates me was the fact that Peter actually got out of the boat and WAS walking on the water until he took his eyes off the Lord. It says "So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. BUT when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord save me."
How amazing it is that when our eyes are focused and trained on the Lord, we can do absolutely anything we set our hearts and minds to, but the second, no millisecond, we take our focus off God, we start to sink. Why? Why is it so hard to keep our eyes trained on the Lord? What is so alluring about the things of this world that draw our gaze and our hearts from the only one who deserves our attention?
As I look into my life, things are rough. There are a lot of distractions surrounding me; things I need to get done, worries I have, dreams I wish would come true, and the day to day grind that is work, taking care of my home, and building relationships. All the Lord really wants from me is to stop and put all my attention on Him, basically filtering my life through His eyes, but I don't. It's sad, but I consciously tend to choose to ignore what the Lord calls me to do and keep trucking along in my life (which isn't even mine in the first place). Why do I keep letting the wind in my life cause me to doubt the Lord?
My prayer for this summer is that the Lord will teach me how to be utterly obedient to Him (I know this is going to be an extreme challenge).
Lord, teach me what it means to keep my eyes of you. Help me not become distracted by the things of this world and guide me in the path of becoming a woman of Christ. I love you and want to do your will, yet I am weak and discouraged. Make me strong and courageous. Give me the ability to step out of the boat and walk towards you. My life is not my own, but Yours to change and grow. In your amazing name. Amen.
Beautiful, Jackie.
ReplyDelete