Faith rose in Peter as he heard the word from the Master. “Come”. With hopeful excitement Peter hoisted himself up on the edge of the boat and began to let himself down onto the water. I can only imaging how he felt as he placed his foot on the water. It held! This is fantastic! As he put his other foot down and it held too, Peter began to look around for Jesus. As he set his eyes on Jesus, Peter began to put one foot in front of the other, walking on the water toward Jesus. Wait…here comes a wave. Oh No! It went over the top of my foot. I can’t walk on the water when the waves are going over my feet! All this wind. I’m having to lean into the wind and it seems to be pushing me further in to the water! Oh No! I’m sinking. Jesus! Help!
Peter started out well, didn’t he? In Matt 14:28 Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and calls out “Lord, if it’s you, bid me to come to you on the water”. I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t say “It’s me but you need to stay in the boat”. What did Jesus say? One word. “Come”.
While Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and his mind on the command “Come”, he was able to walk on the water. He had a promise that was actively strengthening the surface of that water to hold him up. It was Peter’s faith in the Word of Jesus that made that water strong enough. We know this because it was when Peter began to look at the circumstances and let them fill up his vision, that he began to sink. His faith in the promise allowed him to walk on water. His unbelief allowed him to sink.
We know this by what Jesus said once they were in the boat. “Oh you or little faith, why did you doubt?”
Photo: Jonas Svidras @ STEP.CAMERA
On December 9th of 2017, I took my wife’s car into a local oil change shop to get the oil changed. It seemed like a typical visit and took about 30 – 45 minutes. As always, I had to withstand the “meeting” where they tried to up-sell me on everything from cabin air filters to wiper blades.
Forty five minutes later, they are all done. I pay the bill. I get my key. I walk out and get into my car. I start it. It runs for about ten seconds then dies. I try in vain to get it started again but it will not run. The oil change guys come out and swarm around my car like a bees trying to get it running but to no avail. My car is dead and for at least an hour, my car is right in front of this shop with the hood up, advertising for them.
I had it towed to a shop I know and trust for help. After more than a day they give me a call. They’ve found the problem and we move forward with a plan of action. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end. It’s taken more than a month and the vehicle has been back into the shop three times.
As time went by, I found myself worrying. It was a slow, creeping anxiety. This incident had sort of up-ended my life, forcing both me and my wife to alter our schedules so that we could car-pool back & forth to work, I found myself becoming anxious.
Worry is a form of fear. It’s actually faith in the ability for circumstances to hurt you. Jesus said over and over to the people He ministered to “FEAR NOT!” Why? Because fear will undermine your ability to receive from God. We receive by our level of faith, not by God’s ability to give.
While getting this vehicle fixed wasn’t cheap, we had the money to cover it, but I had lost sight of the promises and allowed the problem to fill my windshield so to speak. It was all I was looking at. I know better than that.
Once I realized what I was doing, I arrested my thinking. I began to wonder why I tend to lean toward fear first? I asked the question – Can we grow to the point where our first thought is a faith thought? I believe we can!
Jesus said in John 8:32 “You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free”. The implication of that verse is that its the truth you KNOW that makes you free. Here is something I want you to think about.
In Christ.
One thing I would recommend for all Christians is that they go through the New Testament in their Bible with a highlighter and mark all of the occurrences of “In Him”, “In whom” and “In Christ”. The verses where these are used are speaking about who YOU are if you are Saved. You are In Christ.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that we (who have believed) have been made the righteousness of God in Him. What does that mean? Righteous means right standing with God. We are in right standing with God because God the Father sees us “In Him”. His right standing has been attributed to us.
The word “Circumstance” means the circle that one stands in. Our circumstance includes all the things that surround us. Our circumstance may be good, or it may be terrible, but consider this…If we have been given right standing with God in Him, that means that His circumstances become our circumstances. His circumstance is righteousness. He IS victorious over death, hell and the grave, which means that we are too – in Him.
Consider what Paul wrote in Romans 8:31 – 39.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we really look at God’s love for us and how complete a redemption He has provided, it becomes easy to believe that everything is going to be okay. Many don’t trust God because they don’t know that they CAN trust God. Once we get into His promises, it becomes clear that He is for us and He wants to help us.
In what way has God come through for you? Join the conversation by leaving a comment.
Thanks Art, this is good.
A good word in due season!