Dear Precious Friends,
On this beautiful new day, this gift from God I felt called to share why I named God's store that He allowed me to operate for 18 years, Walk on Water. I have this painting in my office and please study it.
Matthew 14:22-23
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
I am always amazed that this happened after the feeding of the thousands and the disciples witnessed a miracle. I want to share this image and the inspiration behind this:
This is from the painter: Abraham Hunter:
Abram Hunter painted this picture and It's in my office. It's called Leap of Faith. I am sharing his inspiration behind it. Look at the painting to see the details. You can see the cloud open and the unbelievable storm. If you pay attention to the details of the storm, they represent how scary life can be. This is marks version of the bible and says Jesus told the disciples to go the other side and he would have met them on the other side. In Mark, we see Jesus was walking on water and would have passed them by but they cried out to him. He changes his direction . One of the disciples is trying to save the net. That's symbolic of us clinging to a job or something that keeps us from walking in faith.
The other disciples are pulling on the rudder to change direction of the ship. When you counter strong waves you can sail into them. In fear and get anxious, you forget and run. THey were pulling on the rudder to go away and the waves were filling with water. When we try to change the direction of our lives and its not rooted in faith, it can capsize. The disciples are trying to save the sales that are gone, sometimes we deal with emotional baggage or things in our souls that we don't need to cling to but we keep clinging to them which distracts us from Jesus when He has his arms open. Peter is stepping out, Andrew is trying to pull him in to keep him safe.... sometimes your best friend may try to keep you from jumping out in faith. Others may say don't do that... there are all kinds of practical applications and we have to be like Peter and follow Jesus and not the opinions of others. In this depiction you'll see Peter and Jesus are the only ones with relaxed shoulders. They are worried and confused and trying to micromanage what is going on in their lives. THe rays of light shows Gods favor on Peter and Jesus giving them power to walk on water. At that. They are both having the power to walk on water and at that point Peter had the same faith as Jesus did because He let go and let Jesus take over.
As we all very well know, we live in a world full of distractions. It seems the more we seek to live for the Lord, the more we are distracted. It takes single-minded devotion and focus in order to not let anything divert us from our living for Him. When Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water, he was fine as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord. But when he saw the effects of the wind, he became distracted, and looked away from Jesus. At that moment, he began to sink. That is what happens to us when our attention is diverted from Christ; trouble arises. And maybe the winds are beginning to blow in your life and the waves are rising up and you feel like you're sinking. If so, remember as you are sinking, Jesus always reaches out His hand as an invitation to draw near and know Him better – to know He will always be there when we cry out “Lord, save me! ”The walk of faith cannot be accomplished in our own strength.
So before the howling winds of distraction begin to blow, and when waves of fear, insecurity, discouragement or stress crash around you. These quickly become your focus instead of fixing your eyes on Jesus. Without fail, you will sink under the weight of these circumstances and fall. Here is the amazing thing about Jesus. When Peter began sinking, he cried out for Jesus to save him. And Jesus did. Just as Jesus didn't hesitate to pull Peter out of the rough waves, He will pull you and me back too as soon as we ask. The best place to fix our eyes is on Jesus. He's our peace, source of hope, and the One person we can trust will always be there for us. And when we do fall, as soon as we call out to Him, He'll pick us up. He is able to keep us from sinking regardless how violent the wind blows. God is able to exceedingly more than we think or imagine.
Amen!
Source: Bible, Abram Hunter, Daily Devo
