Walk on the Water

Matthew 14:26-33- ²⁶When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." ²⁸Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." ²⁹And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.³⁰But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"³¹Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"³²When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"

Whether circumstances in life are going good or we are in the midst of trials Jesus wants us to focus on Him. Especially during the trials and tribulations. Peter said command me to come to you and while everything was calm Peter had no problem walking on the water to Jesus because he was focused on Him. When the storm came upon Peter he began to take his eyes off of Jesus and started focusing on his situation, and his circumstance. Then immediately he started to sink. 

So many times in my own life I tend to take my eyes off of Jesus during trials especially the one I am going through right now. When I do that, when I focus on the tragedy or the circumstances in life I lose sight of Jesus and I begin to sink right down into the pit of despair. The beauty in this text is that Jesus knows we are going to do that and when we cry out to Him to save us from the hell we are putting ourself through He is faithful to take us by the hand and pull us up. 

This won't happen with out a little scolding; "O ye of little faith, why did you doubt?" We doubt because we take our eyes off of Jesus. There is nothing the nearness of Christ can't overcome, but when we focus on our problems instead of Christ our problems overtake us. In verse 32 the wind stopped when Peter refocused and realized who was in control. 

Why must we continually focus on Jesus? Well verse 33 says that all who were in the boat saw and worshipped Jesus. Our dependance on Christ allows His life to live through us and others will see that, especially in our trials, and will worship Jesus Christ. 

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. i have been very busy,t hen there are the days

that we do nothing but sit around and can't do anything. Two weekends ago Dylan Jolley and Blake Oliver came to visit us and those two cool dudes, Greyson and I went to Greenville, NC to see ECU Pirates play Baseball. We had a blast. Made alot of memories. Gotta lot of stories to tell from that trip. 

Then this past Sunday through Tuesday Thumper Lyles, Ub Comer and Blaine Lowry came to visit. Oh how we love for people to visit us. We had such an amazing time with Dylan and Blake, then another amazing time with Thump, Ub And Blaine especially the board meetings. ha    

Since I wrote last God has kept me in Jeremiah 17, I read this to Gina last Monday 

and we are still still in this text today. Some text are good to stay in and meditate on. This is definitely one of those text for me.

5"Thus says the LORD:  

Cursed is the man who trusts in man 

and makes flesh his strength,           

Whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 He is like a shrub in the desert,

and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land.

7"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, 

whose trust is the LORD.

8 He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,                                                      

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought, 

for it does not cease to bear fruit."

                                                                      Amazing. Oh how many times i try to make my flesh my  strength.

I cry out to God to be my strength and then in no time i am leaning on my own understanding and making my flesh my strength. Oh me of little faith.  God is so good but I always get in the way and when I do God says I am cursed. When I am focused on my circumstances and my trials I am turning my heart away from God and I am like a shrub in the desert that will see nothing good .This kind of living isn't living at all. This kind of living will keep me in the wilderness. I will become sidetracked in the wilderness. Thank God He gives us an alternative. Verse 7 tells us that we can be blessed if we trust in the Lord. That all sounds great but to trust in God we must take up our cross and deny ourself and there in lies the problem. We lean on our own understanding of our circumstances and trial as and tribulations instead of surrendering all our cares to God and casting them upon Him. Verse 8 describes this blessed man; he is a man with deep roots as with a tree planted by a stream. No matter what comes his way he can withstand the heat because he trust the Lord. His leaves remain green during tough times, they don't draw back and wither away. There have been many  days where i felt like drawing up and withering since Brandon's been gone but God gently guides my thoughts back to Him and I can feel the fear

from my circumstances fade away. Not only does God tell us that our roots will be deep and our leaves green when we trust in the Lord, but we will continue to bear fruit during a drought and not be anxious. WOW. We have had a year of drought. We lost our baby Caleb Nathaniel in September due to a miscarriage in the 4th month, then Brandon six months later. I have to ask myself, "How is my fruit during this year of drought?" It is very easy to dry up and wither away if I focus on my drought but when my focus is on Christ my drought seems to fade in comparison to His marvelous light.