Jesus said, “Come, Peter. ”Then Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. But while Peter was walking on the water, he saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and began sinking into the water. He shouted, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:29-30 ERV
When I was a kid I used to get car sick unless I sat in the front seat. It seemed like when I could see where I was going I wouldn’t get nauseous and a headache. There were also amusement park rides I had to avoid like the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Giant Swing. I later found out I also got sea sick when I was on a “Sunset Cruise”. There had been a storm early that morning and the sea was rough. The Cruise Director saw I was not feeling well and came over and told me to sit on the other side and if I would keep looking at the shoreline I would be fine. And I was, until we got too far out on the ocean and I couldn’t see it anymore. Thank God we weren’t out far for long. When I asked him why seeing the shore helped me, he said it was because the land was immovable, stationary and solid, focusing on it kept my mind off the moving of the water and the boat. I actually tricked my mind into believing I wasn’t moving! Proverbs was right when it says as a man thinks so is he.
At that moment I thought of Peter and how as long as he focused on Jesus he could walk on the water. That event happened the Bible says in the fourth watch, the darkest time of the night. To top it off it was storming, so there was no moon or starlight. It was pitch black! And just like me when we were too far out to see land, the disciples couldn’t either. The only One they could look to was Jesus. And when I looked back on that evening, I could have looked to Jesus also.
My friends, we might not be on the water right now, but we certainly are on unstable ground and living in uncertain times. In an instant something we thought was stable, becomes unstable. The only stable and sure One to focus on is Jesus. When we focus on Him, fear needs to flee and peace only He can provide comes over us. He hasn’t changed in over 2000 years and He’s not changing now. When we keep our eyes and minds on Him, then our minds can’t focus on all the unstable things happening in this world. What a better way to show the world how different life is when we walk with Jesus in this world rather than depending on the things of this world. People are searching and looking for a better way to live, let’s help them find Jesus by showing them the peace only He can give during these trying times.
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