Eyes on Christ

There are times in your life when you feel that your boat does not have any direction, where everything seems impossible to overcome and that you're going to sink. Well, all of us at a certain point have the impression that the storm that hits us might eventually kill us. However, when we have Christ in the boat the harsh storms surrounding it do not have the power to drown neither you nor the boat.

Faith is the substance of things unseen, and as children of the Most High we walk by FAITH, not by sight.

During Jesus' earthly ministry, the apostles confronted with great storms at sea, once with Jesus in the boat, and some other time with Jesus outside the boat. It is interesting to remark that in both cases people forget that God is all powerful, whether with Jesus in the boat or outside of it.

Mark 4:37-40 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

The apostles were rebuked by Jesus Christ for the same problem as every human being on earth confronts with: little or no faith.

Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

As a faithful servant, when you get saved, once in a while the waves of life hit you right in the face. Our natural instinct is to go by what we see. As a result, we tend to worry, fear, raise up concerns. So, it is very important that we should instantly pray about whatever we are confronting with. Maybe the problems we are facing seem impossible to cope with, yet for God everything is possible. We should turn to Him and seek counsel in wisdom, understanding, fully relying on His power, ability, and direction He leads the boat to.

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Jesus proves His deity, that He is in control of all things when He walks on the sea to meet the disciples outside the boat. This time, Jesus is not in the boat, but walking on the sea towards the boat.

Matthew 14:24-27 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

So wonderful! Jesus telling His disciples that He is there, that He is the One, that they should not fear. The interesting part comes right away,

Matthew 14:28-31 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

How many times during these tough times of pain and suffering we tend to rely on ourselves and doubt the Lord? That's what Peter experienced. He looked straight to Jesus, walked on water, BUT he feared when he realized that something abnormal was happening to him while moving towards the Lord. We are NOT in control, but Jesus is! We are NOT God, Jesus is! As people, we fail God many times in different way, yet He loves us unconditionally if we are His. It is better to stay in the boat and wait on the Lord, rather than moving in doubt thinking that we can manage to cope with trials just by ourselves. Peter took his eyes OFF the Lord for a moment, and he started sinking already. If you want to prevail, keep your eyes on the Lord and for safety, stay in the ship! God can do wonders!

Some times it is hard to deal with certain situations, to confront different storms, to seek solutions. Therefore, we become anxious, impatient, waiting to see the destination the Lord leads us to, and even if we fail and do more things than our little faith can go us through, the Lord is always there to grab us by the hand and not let us drown in the tempest waves of the raging sea. If you ask for HELP, God comes on the resque.

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Rejoice in the hope on our Lord and Saviour Who has the ability to take you out of the sea when no one else can.

I, like you, find myself getting outside the boat, but I always cry out, "LORD, SAVE ME!". Don't be that proud as thinking you can save yourself! Those who do that die in their own pride. Trust Jesus!

With godly hope,

Denisa