learning DAILY

Matthew 14:31, And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Okay.  You have been knocked down – perhaps again.  What do you do when you are down?  Do you lay there feeling sorry for yourself or get up?  It can be really difficult getting up because we like to wallow in self-pity, blaming everyone and everything else for the situation you got yourself into.  Am I wrong?  You allowed a particular thought to linger in your mind too long.  You knew something was wrong with the deal you were making but did it anyway.  You knew you should not have taken that first ____ but did it anyway.  Get the pattern?  Once the action was done, eventually comes the consequence.  And you would not be in the situation if only …..  I have been there!   It is not easy to get up.  Embarrassment, damaged reputation, the hurting of loved ones and others can be a difficult reality.  I might add that this can happen to the person who is trying to do good for all the right reasons but gets knocked down in the process.

The biblical account of Jesus walking on the water to meet His disciples gives me some perspective on what has been discussed about being knocked down.  Peter had said to the Lord, “If it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  The Lord told him to come.  So, Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, took his eyes off the Lord, looked at the waves and began to sink.  He took his eyes off the Lord and got into trouble – he got knocked down (or began to sink).  The non-believer never has his eyes on the Lord; but the Believer gets into trouble when he takes his eyes off the Lord and looks at the world around him.

Here is what I really like about this account of Peter.  He looked up to the One who could help him.  There was no long prayer, only a sincere plea for help so he could get up.  “Lord, save me!”  When Peter chose to get out of the boat to follow Jesus he was totally relying on Jesus.  But his attention was diverted to the circumstances around him.  Isn’t this what happens to us when we take our eyes off the Lord and try to do things in our own power and get knocked down? 

Do you think Peter failed that night?  No, he just got knocked down.  But Jesus was there to help him up.  He is there to help us up when we get knocked down as well.  It is by His love, His grace, and His power that we get up.  Does that eliminate the consequences?  No!  But He will be with us as we go through them.  I believe that is enough. 

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