Matthew 13-14; Proverbs 5
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Every day so far in the book of Matthew God keeps hitting me with stuff
about faith! In Matthew chapter 14
is the story of when Jesus walked on the water. He had sent the disciples out ahead of Him while He went to
be alone to pray (He did that a lot—we should learn from that, by the way). It says that the boat was a
considerable distance away and that it was the fourth watch of the night, which
means they were pretty far out and had been at it for a while. And the boat was being “buffeted by the
waves because the wind was against it.”
So Jesus walks out to the boat – on the water! It freaks the disciples out! They were terrified and cried out in
fear thinking He was a ghost. “But
Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
First learning point for me—sometimes you’re going to be out in
the waves for a while before you see Jesus, but He’s never too far. He’ll always come saying, “Take
courage! Don’t be afraid.”
And then the part that my pastor Bret Nicholson once again brought
to life for me recently was Peter’s odd request. Peter says, “Lord if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the
water.” Now, I always thought that
part was pretty cool, but never thought about how strange that was. What would make Peter think to say –
hey, tell me to come on out there and walk on top of the water too? And Jesus just says, “Come.”
I honestly think I’m a little like Peter in that I’m very eager to
be close to Jesus, to experience the fullness of His power and goodness. I don’t want to just stay in the boat. I know He’s there. I know all things are possible through
Him. I know that if I step out of
the boat I’ll experience something amazing and I’ll get closer to Him. I also think I’m like Peter in that
even though I want to step out of the boat I also notice the waves and the wind
all around and my faith fails.
I’m a very visual person, and when I read this story in the Bible
I have a clear picture in my mind of Jesus on the water with the waves coming
all around and the boat being tossed back and forth. Then there I am in the boat locking my eyes on His. It is all I see. His eyes. I pray, “Lord ask me to come.” And He says, “Come.”
Lord, help me to
keep my eyes locked on yours.
“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You may call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior.” ~Hillsong
United: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
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