Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Peter sees Jesus walking on the water in the midst of the great storm. Jesus says to them that are on the boat to “be of good cheer, for it is I, do not be afraid.” Just seeing Jesus put their minds at ease. Our hearts are at peace when we “know” that Jesus sees our afflictions. And yet we see Peter, caught up in the presence of God. It is not good enough that he sees him from a distance, he wants to be right where He is, no matter the circumstance, and he is taken up by the Lord’s presence. In the Lord’s presence, when we are captivated by Him, then the roar of the wind dies down. The tumultuous waves that were otherwise so terrifying, cease to present any threat in the manifest presence of God. Nature itself loses all of its power as the water loses its ability to swallow whole those who stand with Jesus.
And we see what happens when Peter takes His eyes off Jesus. Immediately the noise of his present circumstances comes roaring back and would have been deafening. The waves would rise up and reach out to take him under to his watery grave. Nature comes back into its own and Peter begins to sink. Yet Jesus. He is still there even when we have momentarily lost our focus and our faith. He will not let us drown. He is faithful even when we are not. He will catch us. He will come into our boat and suddenly the storm is completely gone. And then all who witnessed this fell down before Jesus and worshiped Him. Brothers and sisters, we are called to come to Jesus. Oftentimes we are so tempted to “batten down the hatches,” yet in many cases this just delays the inevitable sinking of the ship in the great storms of life.
We must come to Jesus and follow Him. Whether out of the boat into the teeth of the storm, or out of the storm back into the boat. Where He is there is peace whether in the eye of the storm or the stilled storm. It is all the same. He is our peace. Where He is there is glory and all things are possible. Perfect peace casts out all fear and only in Jesus can we stand, whether that is upon solid ground or on the water. Let the whole world shake. Let the mountains begin to crumble. Let the seas rise up and roar. Let the skies fall down and the stars fall from the heavens. He still rules and He still reigns. No matter what you are facing today saints, He still reigns sovereign over all that exists. Look to Jesus today. Step out of the boat. Or reach out and take His hand. Or follow Him back into the boat. Wherever He goes, let us follow Him to the ends of the earth and to the gates of eternity. He shall lead us home.
I wrote the poem below last night after speaking with a friend who is dealing with cancer for the second time. You can easily take out the word cancer and replace it with ” trials.” God is with us in out trials shaping us. Often times we are only a doorway away from His glory and presence. When He becomes our primary object and not the trial itself then we discover a way of walking through the door.
Trials and Comfort
It’s not the cancer that I fear
It is the thought that you’re not near
For in your presence worlds collide
Beneath your wings I’ll surely hide
Take me to yourself I pray
Walk with me along the way
I’m tired O Lord please hold my hand
And pull me out from shifting sand
For in the sands there is no ground
Nor solid place that can be found
No handkerchief to wipe the tears
Surrounded by my many fears
You pull me up you cover me
You saw me longing to be free
And now I’ve found a place in you
On solid ground I stand tis true
I fix my eyes on you alone
I lift my hands unto the throne
Of glory mercy love and grace
I gaze upon thy Holy face
And as my gaze is fixed on thee
I find that I am surely free
And in your presence I draw near
And perfect love casts out all fear
Oh my King take all of me
Take every part that you can see
Then in thy hand you’ll hold me tight
Two hearts entwined shall then take flight
Now here I am before your throne
Not forsaken not alone
Legs once weary now can run
Into the arms of God’s own Son
The joy of the Lord is my strength
And you shall go to any length
To take me deeper into thee
To heal me Lord and set me free
My dearest friends in Oklahoma are facing a mighty battle. Their oldest son Luke, 16, is fighting leukemia. Two years ago he had a bone marrow transplant and just recently the disease has made a come-back and they face the same battle all over again. The diagnosis from the doctor is not good. They are currently at St Jude’s hospital in Memphis. Brian(father) the pastor of a small church in Barnsdall ,Ok, has decided to journal for the next month, this time will be the most brutal time of process of the second transplant. Brian and Martha would love you guys to enter into prayer on behalf of their son as their hope and trust is in the Lord. Here is the first journal entry……………………..
A Call To The Remnant 