Undaunted
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew 14:28-31
It only took a second. Imagine the scene. The disciples had been struggling in an angry sea, but upon recognizing the Messiah walking toward them, Peter stepped out and walked on the water toward Jesus. He was doing the impossible. Taking steps no mortal man had ever taken, and until that moment, couldn’t even imagine. But, the second he took his eyes of Jesus, he faltered quickly. When I reread the account, it occured to me: The sea was already tossed with waves when he left the boat. He knew he was stepping out into a sea full of waves and wind. But, at that moment, his eyes were firmly fixed on Christ and he thought of nothing else. It was that momentary realization of the incredulity of the situation that caused him to falter. The winds didn’t suddenly break his concentration, it was his focus on Christ that lapsed.
Isn’t that how it is with us? We can walk through troubled seas if we keep our eyes fixed on our Lord, but the second we look around at where we are and see all of the chaos and trouble in this world we live in that we can begin to sink. Lately, I’ve had a few days in which the troubles of the world came close to pulling my focus away from Jesus. Thankfully, I had developed a routine of prayer and study, and my habitual times of turning to the Lord gave me time to stop and listen to the Holy Spirit and let the truth of the matter wash over me:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
I was so used to spending time with the Lord, that even when my heart was troubled and full of sorrow, I continued along that same path. That’s why it is so important to spend time in the Word and in prayer daily. Creating a habit, creating a way of life that is steeped in Christ during the good days, makes it so much easier to run to Him in the bad times. I ran into the arms of a Lord that I was already familiar with. I was so used to pouring my heart out to Him that my prayer closet was a place of comfort and familiarity.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. Psalm 32:7
It’s easy to forget that Peter stepped out into a sea that was already full of waves and trouble. He was focused on Jesus, and going to Him was on his mind. It was when he got away from the others and was standing on troubled waters by himself that he suddenly lost focus for a moment. We are born into and live in a world that is full of sin and storms. When we allow them to take our attention from Him, even if only momentarily, we can feel completely overwhelmed by what is going on around us.
Peter is an amazing example of God’s continual guidance. Peter’s life was full of wildly visible stumbles and amazing rescues and restoration by our Lord. God makes no mistakes, and was fully aware of Peter’s future stumbling when Jesus called him by the seaside. But, he also knew that Peter would love Jesus fiercely, and persevere even through his failures. Our Lord knows us intimately, too. He understands completely how we feel when worldly chaos causes stumbles in our walk of faith, and He desires to lead us back to the right path, just as He did Peter, time and time again.
When you face troubles in this life, seek the One who can safely see you through them. Leaning on Him for every need. He is faithful and true, and while He may not rescue from your troubles, He is our rock and shield, or hiding place in times of trouble. He is our comforter, our counselor, and provider. Leaning on our Lord doesn’t mean that we will have a life without troubles, but it does mean that we can face those troubles undaunted.
