PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Somewhere between 9:30 last night and 1:30 this morning, I was sleeping so good! And then, something startled me awake. No idea what it was but on the rare occasion when that happens, I always try to gauge my dog. She was snoozing away, and I know that if something was wrong, she would have woke up too. And she would have let it be known if anything was amiss.
But I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. I could not go back to sleep. I even reset my alarms to try to give myself more time this morning. But true to form, I was finally drifting back to sleep when the first alarm went off at 5:15.
Isn’t it the same for our faith? We’re going along, all is fine, and then something rattles it.
In Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus walked on water. Peter asked to join Him. As long as Peter was focused on Jesus, he was fine. The Bible says, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me’” (Matthew 14:30 ESV).
It was when Peter was distracted that he sank. We have to keep our focus on Jesus. He alone keeps us going. When we are tempted to look away, we will feel ourselves slipping, just as Peter.
But even on those occasions when we do slip, our Savior is so kind to us. Matthew 14:31 ESV says, “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”
Not only did He reach out to help Peter, but the Scripture also says He did so immediately. He didn’t make Peter wait and say, “Yeah, try it on your own for a bit.” His words, I am certain, were spoken with a voice of kind and loving compassion.
Just as He offered His hand to Peter, and had mercy on Him, so He does for us.
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus for being above the impossible to the point that He can even walk on water. Thank Him for being the center of our faith. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you keep your focus on Jesus and in the moments when you get distracted (or even if you’re distracted from your faith now) trust that you can call out to Jesus and He will immediately be there for you.
