Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. When he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Matt 14:29-30
I have been pondering something this week–how often in my life have I been like Peter? How often do I ‘see the wind’, instead of keeping my eyes on the ONE who has told me to “COME”. More times than I care to mention.
I can hardly even begin to imagine the fear and adrenaline that was pumping through Peter’s body when Jesus told him to “COME”. Yeah, he did it, he took what must have seemed like the most gigantic step out of that boat, trembling I’m sure. Goodness, Jesus was standing right there, telling him audibly to come. What more could a man want? Jesus in the flesh telling him to do something. You know how many times, when faced with a tough decision or circumstance, I have longed to see Jesus face-to-face, telling me exactly what to do. How nice would that be?
Here’s the thing with me…I complicate things terribly. I can relate so well to Peter and his ‘seeing the wind’. I have the same relationship with Jesus that Peter had. I hear His voice. Sure, I may not see Him face-to-face (although we have heard of many who have), but He has given me His Word with every instruction I could ever need. And, He sent the Holy Spirit too…a bonus. Heck, what more could I want or need as I navigate my way through this life? Why do I complicate things? Why do I ‘see the wind’ way too often? If all I need is faith the size of a mustard seed, then why do I have this amazing [and perfected] ability to doubt?
We are seeking the Lord on many things in our lives. It has been one of those weeks when I would so love to have the Lord come and sit right next to me. As I was crying out to Him about the thing that is weighing me down right now–well…if the truth be told, I was not really crying out to Him, I was more like telling God how crazy my life is, how busy I am, how I could not possibly have time to take on anything else in this season…bla bla bla. You know what He did? He brought me to this scripture of the disciples in the boat…
“So, dear one, you think your life is so busy and so crazy?”
“Um, yeah Lord—just look at everything I am trying to do (sheesh, so pathetic).”
“Well, how do you think the disciples felt at that moment in the boat? Waves crashing all around them, fierce seas, panic, thinking they were surely going to die…was that a good time for Peter to get out of the boat? Was his life not crazy enough? Was that a good time for him to be obedient and DO what I commanded him to do?”
Ummm, well, okay—I get the picture, Lord. It really is all about being obedient. Obedience in the face of fear, doubt, uncertainty, all the unknowns, all the what-if’s.
May I learn to ‘see the wind’ less. That is the desire of my heart. The ‘wind’ will always be there–things that cause confusion, things that distract me, things that cause me to take my eyes off of Him, things that pull me in all directions I should not be going in. Truthfully, there will always be at least one (or one hundred) reasons that I can find to not do what God is calling me to do. Life will always be too busy. I can always find a way to justify why something is too time consuming, too painful or just too darn difficult to do. But to miss out on the blessing of being obedient in the storm? To have Him whisper in my ear that I had little faith? Oh God in heaven–I do not want to ever go down that road. The easy road–it is just not worth it for me.
May I always be ready and willing to give the Father my full obedience–no questions asked, no excuses made.
Less of me, and so much more of Him.
