Save Me Lord

Chuckle: "I walked around the block three times this morning . . . then I picked up the block and threw it in the toy chest."

Good Quote: "Faith is the whole man (person) rightly related to God by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." --Oswald Chambers

"Alright, come" Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. "You don't have much faith." Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?" (Matthew 14:29-31 NLT)

I'm sure we all like to think our faith will allow us to stand firm in the face of any challenge placed before us. But, like Peter, sometimes our faith falters. I can think of no greater test of faith than for Jesus to tell Peter to leave the relative safety of the boat in a storm and "come." The easiest response for Peter would have been to say, "that's OK, Lord, I'll just wait for you here in the safety of the boat." But, in an initial show of faith, Peter had asked Jesus to let him come to Him; and when Jesus said "come," he immediately obeyed and found himself in the safest place on earth because of his obedience to Jesus. Can you imagine the faith and courage resident in Peter which would allow him to step out of that boat and begin walking toward Jesus on the water?

When our hearts and minds are attuned to Jesus, we will listen for His call and do whatever is necessary to be obedient to that call. If it had been anyone other than Jesus who said "Come," Peter would have sunk the instant he stepped out of the boat. But the lesson here is that when Jesus says "Come" he gives us all the courage and strength to do whatever He asks us to do. But if we stumble or falter because of our own lack of faith, we can cry out, "save me Lord," and Jesus is always there to lift us up and help us walk in obedience to Him.

Like many of us, Peter's faith wavered and he began to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus and began contemplating the dangers around him. It's unlikely that Jesus will ask us to walk on water, but He may ask us to walk through difficult times and extreme situations. Our ability to deal with such eventualities is dependent upon our faith. Like Peter, we will begin to sink without adequate faith that our Lord will see us through and cover our weaknesses with His strength. We should focus on Jesus' power instead of our circumstances. Obeying the call of Jesus may lead us into stormy situations, but there is no safer place than walking in obedience with Jesus.

"A little blind girl was perched in the fourth-floor window of a burning building in New York's Harlem district. The firemen were desperate. They couldn't fit the ladder truck between the buildings, and they couldn't get her to jump into a net, which she, of course, couldn't see. Finally her father arrived and shouted through the bull horn that there was a net and that she was to jump on his command. The girl jumped and was so completely relaxed that she did not break a bone or even strain a muscle in the four-story fall. She trusted her father completely, and when she heard his voice she did what he said was best." --Illustrations for Biblical Preaching; Edited by Michael P. Green

 Love, Jerry & Dotse