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Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Matthew 14:31
And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Matthew 14:32
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Matthew 14:33
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.
Last week’s lesson focused on the story of Peter walking on water. There are several lessons that were pointed out when faced with the impossible or any challenge. One lesson is to recognize Jesus’s ability to do what no one else can do to accomplish the task. The second is to get out the boat, meaning you must make that first physical move to step out of your comfort zone or the place that you’re in when Jesus calls you to do whatever it is that He has for you to do. The other very important lessons are to keep your focus on Jesus no matter what, do not walk in fear, but instead walk in the confidence of the Lord, meaning face your challenges with your confidence in Jesus.
Now, we’ll focus on yet other important lessons to learn from Peter walking on the water. One lesson is that Jesus could have stopped the boisterous wind and then told Peter to come to Him. But notice that Jesus told Peter to Come amid the stormy wind. This lets us know that sometimes the Lord will allow the storms around us to rage while directing us to complete a task, sometimes the most challenging task yet. This may be done to show us something about ourselves, such as areas where we are lacking in faith, as was the case with Peter. And/or, it may be to help us focus solely on the Lord, to fully develop tunnel vision for Him.
Another important lesson is that when the Lord tells you to do something, failure sometimes happens as doubt creeps in, and you take your focus off Jesus. But as Peter did, if you just cry out to the Lord to save you, He will do just that. The Lord knows and understands each and every person and their unique situation. So, call on Him, there is power in His name.
Interestingly, the one lesson that sometimes gets overlooked in this story is that after all was said and done, when the disciples that were in the ship witnessed all that Jesus had done, they worshipped Him. They worshipped Him saying, of a truth Thou art the Son of God. They revered Jesus and recognized that He is exactly who He says He is, which is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and that He can do all that He says He can do, and only He can save.
So, as you are faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge, understand that sometimes the Lord doesn’t stop the storm, instead He may give you a task to do amidst the storm. Know that He wouldn’t bring you to it if He wasn’t going to bring you through it. You may fail at the task, but it’s OK, just cry out to the Lord and He will save you. Also, if you are open to learning and growing, your failure will lead you to learn something new about yourself to strengthen you for the next task. And no matter what, remember to worship the Lord and proclaim that He is the Son of God. He is the one who does the impossible. He is the one who helps you to do the impossible. He is the one who calms the mighty winds in your life. He, alone, is the one who saves.
Prayer:
Dear Father God,
Thank You Lord for sending us Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who strengthens us and makes it possible, through Him, for us to do all things. Lord, we pray that You would remove any doubt that we may have for the tasks that You have called us to do and replace that doubt with great faith. Lord, help us to carry on even in the midst of the storm. Lord, give us tunnel vision for You. Show us where we need to learn more and grow more. And Lord, keep us ever mindful to worship You no matter the situation, no matter the outcome. Lord, give us a heart of worship. You are so worthy Lord to be praised.
In Jesus mighty name we pray, thank You Lord,
Amen
Copyright © 2022 Dr. Lou Ella V. Taylor PhD, CNS, RN