Seeing the Invisible (Part 2)

"Peter said to Him, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' 29 And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink,..."

Yep. I've been there too, Peter. Most Christians have at some point. We're trusting Jesus. We're believing His love for us and it's allowing us to do things that would otherwise be impossible for us. It's allowing us to live from our hearts without fear and do the things we've always dreamed of. We're feeling pretty good, just like Peter.

And then life turns on the fans, if you know what I mean. Peter looks at the wind and becomes afraid. Peter starts doubting that God's love will protect him and save him. Peter stops doing the impossible. And all of the weight of his worries and cares start closing in over him.

"then he (Peter) cried out, 'Lord, save me!' 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'"

Jesus saved Peter. Peter stopped looking at Jesus. He failed at trusting God. He believed the wind was more visible than Jesus' love for him.

And Jesus still saved him !

How liberating is that!? Even when you fail. Even when you can't help but stare at the wind of life all  around you and you're overwhelmed by fear... And even when you start to sink in life because of it, you can trust that Jesus is there to save you! He won't let you fall.

And the more life you live, the more you'll see how true that is... and every time Jesus saves you from yourself again, He'll whisper to your heart once more "Why did you doubt?"

Now here's the million dollar question: If Peter had known the end of the story... if he knew that Jesus was absolutely going to save him regardless of his failures, would Peter have ever been afraid of the wind in the first place? Would he have even noticed it?

And if he didn't notice the wind because he wasn't afraid (because he knew Jesus would save him), would he have ever sank?

See, getting rid of fear isn't only about making you feel better...  It's about getting you free enough to do the things God put in your heart. It's about letting you chase your impossible dreams and actually have it work. It's about walking on water again, and this time not sinking. So trust the love of God for you, even when you fail, Because He won't fail to save you.










P.S. I've had this old Casting Crowns song stuck in my head all week. Definitely worth a listen.