Be strong and very courageous. Be
careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them,
turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in
everything you do.
When we follow Jesus, we
will have many opportunities to exercise our faith. We will also have opportunities to allow fear
to keep us from going where God leads.
It takes a great deal of courage to set fear aside and to live by faith.
Peter was ready for the next
step. He was in a boat with his fellow
disciples late one night after a long day of ministry. Jesus told the guys to get in the boat and go
to the other side of the sea (Matthew 14:22-33 is the story). As it often happens, the weather changed
suddenly, and the disciples feared for their lives when the wind got bad.
They were way out in the
middle of the sea as the disciples see someone walking toward them, and they
thought it had to be a ghost. It was
Jesus.
But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t
be afraid,” he said. “Take courage.
I am here!”
The story continues to
unfold as Peter asks Jesus to let him walk to Jesus. Then it happened. Peter walked on water. He actually took steps. We don’t know how many. While the rest of the disciples were in the
boat, Peter got out of the boat.
Jesus walked on water. He is God.
Peter walked on water, and he is not God. This story often gets us caught in the fact
of what Jesus did, and we miss what happened with Peter. Don’t miss this part of the story as there is
much to learn from what Peter experienced and what Peter wanted.
I don’t believe Peter wanted
to do something miraculous or to become a hero.
I believe that Peter wanted to be with Jesus. The way that Peter dealt with fear was to
spend time with the one who brought him comfort. That was Jesus. Peter learned to trust and stop leaning on
his own resources and strength. He saw
Jesus do miracles like healing people and now walking on water.
Yes, Peter sank. When Peter realized that as he was walking on
water and that the storm and the waves and the wind were bad, he began to
sink. When Peter took his eyes off of
Jesus, he sank. We will do the
same. Take your eyes off of Jesus, and
you will sink.
How do we deal with
fear? Do we run in faith to the one we
trust, or do we cower and let our focus move off of God?
To walk on water, you have
to get out of the boat. To trust God,
you have to live by faith and live with courage. God is ready to help us take the next
step. He is ready to empower us to live
lives with meaning and strength that changes us and will lead to others being
changed.
I don’t know about you, but
I am ready to step out of the boat and see what God is going to do next. Despite the fear of looking foolish or
failing; despite the question of finances or of fighting; despite my lack of
resources or confidence, I will step out of the boat and trust God.
May our lives count as we
follow God’s lead.
Such love has no fear,
because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows
that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
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