Dear Insiders,
Absolutely love this truth. Of course I named our Ministry Walk on Water and it is dedicated to the Lord after this Bible Truth...
We all tend to walk out our faith when things are going well, however when the storm rises, we fix our eyes on the storm and not our Lord and sink... It's so true that Jesus is right there carrying us... He will NEVER leave us or forsake us.
When we focus on this part of a well-known New Testament story. The disciples were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee at midnight when they looked up and saw Jesus walking on the water. That is amazing, but as the story continues, Matthew wrote of the treacherous winds, yet Jesus kept walking on top of the waves. The disciples were afraid—and that makes sense. Who would expect to see anyone walking on top of the water, even under the best of conditions?
Then Jesus cried out and told them, Take courage, it is I! Do not be afraid! This is the powerful moment in the story. What will happen now? Do they move over and give Jesus a place to sit in their boat? Should they get out and join Him on the waves? Do they huddle in fear, reminding themselves that human beings can’t walk on top of water?
Peter was the only one who responded in true faith. And let’s make no mistake here. For Peter to say, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water was a tremendous act of faith. You’ll notice that he was the only one who spoke that way.
That was a powerful moment of faith. It was a defining moment that pointed out Peter’s great faith and belief in Jesus, the Anointed One of God. He was so convinced that Jesus truly was the Son of God that he was ready to get out of the boat and walk on top of the water with Him.
How many of us would get out of the boat? I emphasize this because it would be easy enough to say, “Lord, I see You walking on the water, and I believe I could walk on the water alongside You.” But would we? Do we have the kind of faith that would enable us to step out of the boat? Of the twelve disciples, Peter was the only one who took that step of faith.
When we opened Walk on Water 16 years ago April 4th... I was definitely stepping out of the boat and scared to death... I had no choice but to keep my eyes on Him. We had a 1st grader, opened a store with a new concept in the middle of a cow pasture with so many naysayers discouraging us. We also had spiritual giants praying for us and giving us encouragement! God gave me the name of our Ministry in the middle of a church service that Dr. Joel Hunter was giving. I'll never forget it...
I'll never tire of being reminded of the truth of Matthew 14:22-33.
Then when Peter took his eyes of Jesus he began to sink and Jesus said, "you of little faith"...
think about it—Jesus didn’t say those words to the other disciples. He directed the words “you of little faith” to Peter. The implication is the others had no faith at that moment.
Think of these words not just as words of rebuke, but also as words of encouragement to Peter, the one who had enough faith to step out of the boat and begin walking on the water. But when he saw the wind, he was frightened and called out "Lord save me".
What if we saw this as Jesus’ great encouragement, not just to Peter, but also to us? What if we looked at this event as Jesus saying to, “You started so well. You believed Me, and got out of the boat. You did it! You walked on water just as I did. But then you allowed doubt to enter, and when that happened, you began to sink.”
This powerful story is a wonderful reminder that Jesus is always with us, and He will suspend natural laws to reach out to us and care for us... I'm asking the Lord to increase my faith in His Word, and help me to trust Him enough to follow His leading. When the circumstances around us threaten to pull me into deep waters of doubt, help us to focus on Him.
AMEN!!!!
