Trust God and “Walk on Water”
(This is the second devo I wrote for the church project)
“‘Lord, if it’s You,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to You on the water.’ ‘Come,’ He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.’” (Matt. 14:28-29)
“Jump! I’ll catch you!” Stacey was standing on the edge of the kiddy pool, her floaties tightly wrapped around her pudgy arms, her toes gripping the tile that lined the pool’s border. There was her Daddy, wading in the shallow water, not 3 feet from her. He smiled up at her beckoning her to trust him, jump in, the water’s warm, the sun is bright; she’d have fun! But this was Stacy’s first time to go swimming, and she wasn’t so sure…what if Daddy didn’t catch her? Would the water hurt? What if her floaties didn’t work? She bit her lip, eyes wide, brows furrowed, she tried to figure out what to do next, wanting to be with Daddy, but scared that the water would get her first…
Like Stacey, we will have times in our lives when we are called by our Father to do something new, something out of our comfort zones, and something that will force us to trust Him. But these new things are not always exciting: “what if?” becomes the name of the game: “What if I fail? What if I’m rejected? What if I lose money? What if I get hurt?” We grapple with God, wanting to do what He says, but not sure if what He’s asking us to do is worth the risk.
It’s all a matter of trust. Do we trust Him enough to know that He will catch us? Do we believe He would never call us to something for our harm, but only for our ultimate good? Sadly, most of us don’t. Our “what ifs” win the day; we take off our floaties, run back to the picnic table, and wait until it’s time to go home, satisfied that we narrowly escaped a certain disaster.
While some “what ifs” might be legitimate concerns, in the end, they only keep us from moving forward, preventing us from doing the wonderful things God intended for us to do with Him; thus, we miss an incredible opportunity to join God in something spectacular.
Look at what happened to the disciples. In the passage above, Jesus was seen doing something new, exciting, miraculous– He was walking on water! All of the disciples had an opportunity to join Him in this new endeavor, but only one took the chance. As a result, only one walked on water, experiencing a miracle in the company of his Master.
How about you? Do you trust God enough to jump when He beckons you? If He called you to do the impossible, will you step out of the boat, or will you allow the “what ifs” to convince you otherwise? Those, who trust their Father, will swim with Him; those, who trust their Lord, will walk with Him on water.
8 comments:
Father or father? you meant swim with your biological father, right? The capitalization makes it confusing as it implies God the Father.
The capitalization is correct and refers to God the Father. Only the first paragraph is an illustration of Stacey's biological father, and it is just an illustration (which is my typical style). Her "Daddy" is referred to with lower case pronouns and as "Daddy." God the Father is referred to with upper case pronouns and as Father.
I see now, I think. At first, I thought the last mention of Father was referring back to the illustration--comparing Stacey's trusting her father to our 'walking on water' with our Lord. Obviously, I misunderstood your comparison. So I should read it "Those, who trust their Father (GOD), will swim with Him; those, who trust their Lord (GOD), will walk with Him on water". I think I see what you are saying—there is a difference in seeing God as just your Father and seeing him as the Lord of your life (where you really trust His leading). However, you didn’t really clarify the difference in Father vs. Lord in the above and a non-Christian or someone unfamiliar with the idea would probably not understand. I’m still not quite sure if I am even interpreting you correctly. I think you are writing through the lens of someone who grew up in church. Your audience may not understand the difference in Father vs. Lord. For them, the last part of your last sentence would just be redundant. Just my thoughts…
I think you're trying too hard. Are you a new believer?
(I only ask because you mentioned that in your post...please don't take it as a slight, I don't mean it in a derogatory sense AT all! )
Umm...I guess that is relative, but about 20 years in the faith. So, no I don't consider myself new. lol. Please do humor me with your explanation of your last sentence.
Btw, last sentence = last sentence in your blog. :) I'm just curious what you meant. Since you said I was trying too hard, I assume my interpretation was not what you intended.
It's talking about the Lord: just a summary of the concepts introduced in the post; those who trust in the Lord will be able to do the impossible, walk on water, swim with Him in the "pool" - it's metaphorical about trusting God no matter what life throws at you, and when He calls you. (Sory for the delay in response - I had to leave)
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