Saturday, January 8, 2011

Stay Focused On Jesus

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"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. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Peter reminds me of all of us. We want to know God's will for our lives. We plead for some sort of sign, some word or signal that will let us know the path we should take. Then God let's us know which path to take. The disciples were afraid and Peter, being Peter, wanted Jesus to give him a sign. Peter didn't just ask for anything. He wanted to walk on the water like Jesus. And he did.

At least, he did until he took his eyes off Jesus. Then he started to sink. Just like us. We start confidently on the path we know that God has called us to walk. Then we stumble. We hear a little criticism. Things don't go as smoothly as we thought they would. We take our eyes off Jesus and start looking around. And we start to doubt. And we start to sink.

Then just like Peter we cry out to Jesus for the safety and security that only He can provide. And He does. Every time. He reaches out to us and pulls us close, whispering into our hearts, "You of little faith. Why did you doubt?"