The tree outside my window is beautiful right now. Green leaves abound and little white flowers are starting to bloom at the tips of the branches. The dogwoods are blooming too. Like a new beginning, spring has come.
On a good day, just looking out the window at God’s creation is uplifting, but what do you do when you are surrounded by chaos?
Peter is one of my favorites in the Bible. I am a lot like Peter. I tend to leap before I think things through. Sometimes I even leap to obey God with all enthusiasm, until it looks like He is going to give me the task for real. Then my logical and sometimes fearful nature will return, and I will begin to want to put the breaks on the whole thing.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Mat 14:26-32
When Peter was afraid, Jesus caught him and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
What does Peter being afraid of drowning have to do with his faith in Jesus? Unless you realize that fear and faith are opposites, that might not make sense to you. Ultimately, he did not trust Jesus with his circumstances. If he had kept his eyes on Jesus, perhaps he would not have even noticed “the wind boisterous” around him.
Like one of my grandmothers use to say, “What ever will be, will be, whether it ever is or not.” In short, what you believe is your reality.
Is your reality that Jesus is the answer, and that God still has it all under control? Or, is your reality what you see around you? It may be hard to keep your eyes on Jesus, but so much of what we worry about never comes to pass anyway. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we will be more concerned about what God called us to do than about what we think we know is going on in the world around us.
LIFE APPLICATION
Today’s challenge is to put your eyes on Jesus in the midst of the storm. Let Him have His way in your life. In your wisdom, you may not be able to like or understand the outcome you see, but trust that God is still on His throne.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:28
The challenge is to believe it. If you really believe it, you will find peace.