When calamity strikes it is so easy to focus on the problem, to worry about the outcome, and to stress over things that are out of our control. For some reason, many of us forget that control is, and always has been, an illusion. Jesus is our only true constant; our only true rock. Even still, when problems arise, we often take our eyes off of Jesus, which is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. We lose faith, when we should be exercising our faith. A good analogy of this dichotomy can be found in the Bible when Jesus was seen walking on the water. You may be familiar with this story because it is often shared in Sunday school, Bible studies and from the pulpit. It is when Peter, along with the others in the boat, saw Jesus miraculously walking toward them on very rough waters. Then Peter said in Matthew, chapter 14, verses 28 through 31:
“‘Lord, if it is 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?’.”
As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he had faith enough to believe in the miraculous. It was only when he took his eyes off of Jesus, and focused on the situation, did his faith waver and he began to sink. Likewise, when we going through rough waters, our best course of action is to keep our eyes on Jesus. As long as we place our faith and our focus on him, our true security, we come to realize that he is our strength in weakness. We understand that he is the source of our deliverance, our true hope, and the peace in the middle of our storm. But when we allow what we may call, “reality” to set in, when we focus on what our eyes can see, and when we allow the fear of the natural world to overtake us, we falter and sink. Mature believers remember that God is greater than any circumstance. We understand that trails, struggles and persecution are bound to come in this world, but that he has overcome the world. The truth is that whatever situation you face in this life is, and has always been, in God’s hand. Our job is to cry out to him and to trust him; to keep our eyes and our faith on him, not our circumstance. Then, we will find a peace that passes all understanding and a faith that will keep us above the waves instead of letting them overtake us. Peter had faith enough to step out of the boat, but even still, Jesus said, “you of little faith”, because his faith did not persist through his circumstance. Let us learn from this story. Let us put our full and complete faith in Jesus when things are going well, and also, when the waves of life want to overtake us.
—-
Life is uncertain. As humans, we don’t know what the future holds. It is in our nature to put our trust in what we can see with our eyes and understand with our reasoning. But God is the author of life, and the architect of our reality. To place our trust only in what is seen is like an infant placing their trust in their crib. Their crib may seem to protect them, to give them comfort and to fit within their immediate reasoning. But it is their parents who are their real sustainer. However, with infants, it doesn’t take long for them to realize and embrace their dependence on their parents. Why, then, does it take a calamity for us to realize our dependence on our Heavenly Father? So I encourage you to always remember that there is a truth beyond what we can see with our eyes and understand with our minds so that when the waves of life try to overtake us, we are able to keep our eyes on the rock and do not doubt.
Links:
Free “Lord of My Life” Books: https://www.ktfproductions.com/books
Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/lord-of-my-life
Web Page: https://www.ktfproductions.com/loml-home
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ktfproductions/
Subscribe to the KTF Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2n9Lprk
Contact Us:
Email: writecmv@hotmail.com