Dear Precious Friends,
As we embrace the gift of a new day, I am sharing great truth if you find yourself in a slippery slope where doubt, fear and challenges begin to take over your thoughts. I only know about this because I always share with you what I need to hear.
Let me encourage you today if you find yourself in one of those seasons when your heart is heavy over your circumstances that beyond your control. Immediately what do we do when these feelings begin ?
TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO CHRIST... RECOGNIZE THAT THESE THOUGHTS ARE NOT FROM GOD.
Turn to the Lord and seek Him with ALL our heart." (Jeremiah 29:13). He is our anchor for the soul, firm and secure,(Hebrews 6:19) our shelter in the storm, our strong tower to which we run to and find refuge." (Proverbs 18:10). When we find ourselves in the midst of the storm, Jesus Walks on Water (Matthew 14:25) and comes to us and fills those hurting places, giving us strength in our weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9) and "beauty for our ashes" (Isaiah 61:3). Obviously I LOVE THE SCRIPTURE FROM WALK ON WATER SINCE I DEDICATED IT'S TRUTH IN NAMING OUR BOUTIQUE 17 YEARS AGO WALK ON WATER.
I must share a few words about this!!
Matthew 14:26-32 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Peter exhibited GREAT faith when he stepped out on the water... but then he allowed his immediate surroundings to hinder his walk! Peter's faith began with a tremendous bold step, but it required a level of focus that he wasn't used to. Follow through.... that was the problem; those pesky waves, and the way he usually thought about and experienced water; (not something that generally supports your feet)...
We all know what Peter should have done, right? Keep his eyes on the Lord, NOT the waves!!! That's easy for us to say. But how many of us have ever stepped out of the boat? I didn't notice any of the other disciples playing follow the leader with Peter.
I see two things from this: First, put a little adventure into your life; step out on the water; you might actually enjoy the exhilaration and really glorify God on the way. And secondly, If and when you do, learn from Peter's mistake. Make sure you live life keeping your focus on the Lord (not on your own spiritual ambitions)...because you can be totally confident the waves will come, once you're out of the boat. But watching the Lord of Life walking there with us will give you the vision to follow through.
If we start to sink, we took your eyes off Him and immediately must put our eyes back on Him and His truth and He will pull us back up!!!
When we walk through tough situations we have to focus on the Savior who can do what we cannot do. He is more than we think or imagine.
He will rescue us from any pit we are in, especially anxiety, despair and the spirit of heaviness.
Let's all commit to remembering to sit in His presence where we receive fullness of joy no matter our circumstance.
Who will join me?
AMEN!
