Matt. 14:28-31 says – ”Peter called to Him, ”Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” ”Yes, come,” Jesus said. Peter walked on the water towards Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ”Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. ”You have little faith,” Jesus said. ”Why did you doubt me?”
At this time the disciples in the boat were all scared – the storm around them was fierce and they thought they saw a ghost drifting towards them over the water. Jesus spoke to them from the storm, but they were not convinced. Peter’s impulsive response probably drew gasps from the others. But not from Jesus. His reality is different from theirs. He controls the storm and the water under his feet. And Peter walked on the water towards Jesus. For a few moments he lived in God’s reality and experienced God’s power.
But then he removed his eyes from Jesus and submitted to the circumstances. He was terrified and began to sink. Jesus’ response is one of disappointment, ”You have little faith. Why did you doubt me?”
Hebr. 12:1-2 says – ”… since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.”
Acts 7:55 – ”…Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand.”
Col. 3:1-3 – ”Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
2 Cor. 4:16-18 – ”That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Brother, sister, where do you look? What do you see? Present troubles or Jesus standing at God’s right hand?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WAVES AROUND US?
Jesus asked Peter: ”Why did you doubt me?” Removing our eyes from Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith, means we do not trust him to be who he is and to do what he promised. What happens around us fills our thoughts and feelings and becomes our reality. We think, feel, speak and act like those who have no faith, who have no Jesus.
Paul, one of the crowd of victorious witnesses who surround us, wrote down the secret of his faith in Rom. 8:31-39
· If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
· Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one – for God himself has given us right standing with himself.
· Who then will condemn us? No one – for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
· Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ”For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So … let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
Elzeth Malherbe