Water-Walking FaithSample

WATER-WALKERS TRUST

Trust is a powerful thing.

People will jump out of planes attached to a person they have never met, purely because of trust. People will jump into a vehicle with a stranger because they trust the Uber sticker on the windscreen. People will step inside a metal cylinder and fly from one country to another country and never meet the pilot once, all because of trust.

In fact, you probably never checked the seat you are sitting on right now. You just sat on it ‘trusting’ it would hold you up. You probably never checked who your train driver was this morning. You just ‘trusted’ that they would get you to your destination. Why is it then, that we sometimes find it so hard to trust God?

At this stage of the story, Peter has gotten out of the boat and, with faith, is walking on water. After being distracted by the wind and the waves however, the bible says that he began to sink and cried out to Jesus for help. As soon as he cries out for help, Jesus IMMEDIATELY catches him right where he was.

IMMEDIATELY. According to Google, this word means ‘without any intervening time or space’. So, Jesus STEPS IN and doesn’t waste any time or any space. The moment that things look bad, the moment that things look like they are over, Jesus steps in. I mean, just for your own sake, you can go ahead and give God some praise for being the God who steps IN to your circumstance, steps IN to your situation, and steps IN to your trials. He is the God who will never leave you, or forsake you. He doesn’t let you face your problems on your own. Not only is He near you, not only is He for you, He is IN the midst of the battle with you.

This word ‘immediately’ is an interesting one because whenever I picture Jesus on the water, I always imagined Him to be so far away. The bible points out in verse 26 that the disciples believed it was a ghost on the water. Obviously, they were far enough from Jesus to not recognise His voice or His face. The interesting thing is that He was close enough to Peter to catch Him as soon as he began to sink.

This tells us something very important, that either Peter had the faith to walk a fair distance on the water, or that Jesus was close enough to catch him. The bible doesn’t give us the details, all we know is that Jesus was close. And that is a revelation we need to understand. JESUS IS CLOSE.

For someone who is reading this and feeling lonely, Jesus is closer than you know. For someone who is feeling abandoned, Jesus is closer than you know. For someone who is feeling lost and distant, JESUS IS CLOSER THAN YOU KNOW. And because He is close, it means we can trust Him. In every season, in every situation, on every mountain and in every valley. Jesus is with you.

This is why my faith is not in my ability to walk on water. My faith is in Jesus’ ability to catch me when I fall.

In my own strength I have nothing. I can’t save myself. I can’t change myself. I can’t transform myself. I need Jesus. The truth is WE all need Jesus. I want to remind you today that you can trust Him. Maybe you have been hurt by someone that was close to you. A friend, a family member, a teacher, a leader, a boyfriend, or a girlfriend. And it has caused you to be cautious with your trust. So, when God asks you to step out of the boat and get uncomfortable, we can easily remember our hurt, our pain, and even our past. We can then come up with thousands of reasons as to why we can’t step out. But the truth is, our job is not to find reasons, our job is to find God.

The one thing more important than our problems, is our proximity. Peter was saved because he was close to Jesus. He was within catching range. This picture reminds me of how important it is to stay close to God. So when the waves of life, and the winds of pain begin to batter us, we can hold onto our firm foundation - JESUS.

I have found that the closer I am to Jesus, the more clarity I have, the more perspective I have, the more grace I have, and the more peace I have. My goal is to stay as close as I can to Him. To lean into Him. To draw close to Him. To go where He goes. To listen out for His voice. And as long as I am close to Him, I have everything that I need.

You might find the faith to walk on water, but the key to ‘staying’ on the water is trust. Trusting that God has your life. Trusting that He holds it all together in His hands. You may not know how it’s going to end up, you may not know how you are going to get through whatever you are facing. You may not know how this is going to finish, but all I know is that you can trust Him. And if we can trust Him with our beginning, we can trust Him with the end. He is author, He is the finisher, and He holds everything in between.

It’s time to shift your trust away from your own abilities, your own gifts and your own capacity and put your trust in Jesus. It’s not by our might, or by our strength – but by HIS Spirit. The only way we can step out of the boat, and into the miraculous life that God has destined us for, is to trust in Him. He is faithful. He is able.And he will catch you when you fall.

QUESTIONS:

1.What are some of the things in your life that stop or limit your trust in God?

2.Take a moment to reflect on your own life and what God has saved you from. What are some reasons you can think of that remind you that you can trust in God?