Friday, April 26, 2013

Don't Look Down!

"Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'"
Matthew 14:29-30


What is that saying?  Don't look down!

I wonder why they say that?  It's not like your situation is going to change.  Whether you look down or not, my guess is you are already in a position you, possibly, should never have been in the first place.  A dangerous position and whether or not you look down, that position is not going to change.

Yet somehow looking down does make a difference.  It does change things.  It makes us more aware that we are somewhere we shouldn't be.  And too often, once we look down fear takes over.  And that is where the big problems start, when we let the fear take over.  

Fear can be immobilizing.  Fear will stop us in our tracks.  All the sudden we are incapable of moving forward or backward, of making a choice, or deciding what is best.  Fear leads to all sorts of problems.

Fear is what got in Peter's way.  Peter wasn't necessarily in a position he shouldn't be.  No, he was right where Christ told him to be.  But admit it, sometimes that happens to us to.  Maybe we aren't in a "dangerous" situation, we may very well be doing exactly what it is God wants us to be doing, but it's out of our comfort zone.  And so we get scared.  Fear creeps in telling us we shouldn't be doing this, we CAN'T do this, and all the sudden we find ourselves sinking.  

That's what happened to Peter.  He was literally walking on water, doing what nature says is impossible.  But it WASN'T impossible.  Peter WAS WALKING ON WATER (disclaimer: please do not try this at home)!  UNTIL, he let the fear take over.  

At that point, when he let reason (it is impossible to walk on water) override Christ (you can do anything through me), he was limited.  He could only do what we mere mortals can do.  He gave into fear.  And he started to sink.  

There are things we are called to do, each one of us, that are impossible to accomplish by our own accord.  Reason and nature will tell us that these things are simply not possible for us to do.  They will put us out of our comfort zone and if we stop to look down, we will be overcome by fear.  But when we look up, instead of down, when we do it through Christ and not through ourselves, all things are possible.  Peter DID walk on water.  He DID the impossible. 

When you are called to do something amazing by God, and you will be, do it!  Do it through him, not through yourself and whatever you do, DON'T LOOK DOWN!

You will find the complete story of Peter walking on water in Matthew 14:22-32.

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