Encourage, Faith, Hope, Jesus, Trust, Victory
Walking in Faith & Victory
February 4, 2017 - Encourage, Faith, Hope, Jesus, Trust, Victory
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:30-31 ESV)
I am sure we have all wanted to do something phenomenal for God! Something that God would be so happy with. After all God has done for us, first and foremost in the sacrificial gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, we feel that what could I do for Him? What could I give Him? These dreams might involve some form of sacrifice or great leap of faith. We see others like the disciples who have sold everything to follow Jesus. We see missionaries in some far corner of the world and view them as a person of great faith. Sometimes we may even aspire to be like them.
What if we were sitting in that boat with Peter when he decided to take that leap of faith to walk out to Jesus on the water? We probably think that he was overflowing with faith as he began to climb out of the boat and walk toward Jesus. But suddenly, something even stranger happened and Peter began to sink. That courage and faith he had in Jesus was getting smaller as he saw the wind and the waves getting bigger.
A true measure of a person’s faith then is not just the first step of their faith journey, but the subsequent steps thereafter. We deal with this every time we get excited about something, starting any given project only to stop halfway through because it was much more difficult than anticipated. The same thing happens when we believe Jesus would have us do something. But as we start doing it and it doesn’t turn out like we thought it would, or the ministry isn’t immediately growing we begin to sink, losing faith in and sight of Jesus. What we must realize is that if Jesus has called us to make a first step, then he will provide a path for each step toward him after that.
My brother and sister, take that first step of faith, don’t loose sight of Jesus, walk in that faith knowing that the God you serve is bigger than any obstacle and that He is with you and will bring you through to victory!
