"We can never cross the ocean unless
we have courage to lose sight of the shore"
- Christopher Columbus
There are many storms each of us have gone through in this life...a loved one has passed away, there is a bill that you cannot pay, the company you work for has gone bankrupt and you may lose your job, your about to lose your home but you have children to take care of, maybe your child is sick or you were diagnosed with an illness, maybe your anxious and fearful all the time...I don't know what storm you are facing currently, but I do know that there is only One who can calm that storm.
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.
Many of you may have heard sermons be preached where the pastor is telling you to "step out of the boat!" and step out in faith and do what God has called for you do to. Today, my pastor told us that TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN...as soon as you give your life to Christ as your Lord and Savior...the clock starts ticking. God has an assignment for each one of us here on this earth, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those in our community, in our families and in our circles. Who is in your circle? What is your assignment? Many Christians aren't walking in their purpose for a few reasons:
1) It may simply not be time because God is preparing them for the calling on their life. He may be giving them little things to be faithful in before He can give them more and bring them where He wants for them to go. (Luke 16:10; Matthew 25:23)
2) Some Christians simply have not asked God, what is my purpose? At the end of the day, our sole purpose is to bring glory to God because we were created to worship Him, but we also have a specific assignment here on this earth to fulfill. So, just ask because God knows what He has designed for you during a time such as this. God has need of His children to walk in their God given purpose to be the light and salt of the earth.
James 4:3 "You have not because you ask not"
3) Many Christians are looking for a supernatural purpose. We are looking for this purpose to roll out of the sky and crack the heavens open. We have purpose from the moment we wake up, to the moment we go to sleep. Sometimes Christians fall prey to the lie of the enemy thinking they have no purpose because they have no platform. Your family is your platform, your school is your platform, your workplace is your platform. Regardless, we should not be seeking a platform we should be seeking Christ.
4) We can't see our purpose because we are so busy looking at everyone else's. If I am honest, this is a recent conviction for me. I grew discontent with what God has called for me to do. Why? Because I began to look at what He has called others to do and I began to crash into their lane instead of simply driving in mine. Too many of us try to be someone we are not. We want to be the head when God has called us to be the feet. We want to be the feet when God has called us to be the mouth. We all have a specific role and purpose to play in the body of Christ, and we often forget we are members of ONE body (1 Corinthians 12:12) When ONE part of the body is sick, the WHOLE body is out of alignment. We need to learn to encourage one another in the different works Christ has called each of us to do. I will be the first to admit this is an area that I struggle with. There are moments I will think, "God, can't I just?..." The answer will always be NO. God will not change MY assignment simply because I don't want to do it. That's like a science teacher telling their student, "oh you don't want to do your science assignment? Ok, here is a history assignment!" Uhmmm....what?
5. Some of us have so many gifts and talents that simply have not been unfolded yet. OR...we have been given gifts we refuse to use. God blesses us and gives us gifts not just to boast in our own glory, but to give Him the glory that He deserves and be a blessing to others and draw them to Him.
So, getting back to the scripture we read that the disciples were caught up in this crazy storm and they were terrified, yet Jesus already knew what was happening and came to meet them in their NEED. He came to them before they even cried out to Him for help. God sees and knows everything we are going through before we even reach out to him...(Matthew 6:8)
Soon, we find out that the disciples were terrified of Jesus walking towards them on the water and Peter questions Jesus, "Lord, if this is really you tell me to come walking to you on the water" so what does Jesus do? Tells Peter to come on over, to walk out on the water...Peter takes that step of obedience to walk out on the water to meet Jesus and in the midst of it all, the waves became more visible and real than ever and he began to sink when he took his eyes off Christ.
Sometimes when God calls us to step out and do something, the first wave we encounter is doubt. Look at Gideon...he questioned God twice regarding the call on his life to rescue the Israelites (Judges 6:36-39). Then, as we eventually begin to step out of the boat of our comfort zone and onto the water, the waves of fear, insecurity and anxiety begin to creep in and we lose our focus. It's so easy to begin to focus on the storms of this life rather than the One who can calm the storms. When we focus on the waves crashing around us, we begin to sink as Peter did. However, in the midst of his sinking, He called out to Jesus and the bible says, Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. Jesus didn't wait a few extra minutes or take His sweet time in rescuing Peter, but He immediately reached out and grabbed him. (Yes, the SAME Peter that would later reject Jesus 3x and Jesus already knowing that moment still came, reached out and GRABBED Peter in the midst of the storm)
I don't know about you, but when the storms of this life come I am glad that God already sees them coming and has a provision for me...that provision being His son with me inside of my boat. We don't have to go through the storms of this life alone, even when it feels like we do. Jesus understands. He faced the same temptations we face, yet he never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15) He understands our weakness and He bears with us through them. It's so easy to be in a storm and think that no one understands, forgetting that Jesus is not just 100% God, but also 100% man. There is no storm in life that you are facing that He has not already faced. He has braved the winds and the waves for each of us. We can rest assured that when we invite Christ into our boat, He will calm the raging sea or give us the strength we need to fight against the waves so they do not overtake us.
God promises us that we will have TROUBLE throughout our lives here on this earth, but He also promises throughout these troubles that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
Be encouraged and take heart!
Love,
Beth
Picture from over the summer...I miss summer; winter would be OK if I actually got snowed in once...yes, I would like to get snowed in! #Don'tJudge
1) It may simply not be time because God is preparing them for the calling on their life. He may be giving them little things to be faithful in before He can give them more and bring them where He wants for them to go. (Luke 16:10; Matthew 25:23)
2) Some Christians simply have not asked God, what is my purpose? At the end of the day, our sole purpose is to bring glory to God because we were created to worship Him, but we also have a specific assignment here on this earth to fulfill. So, just ask because God knows what He has designed for you during a time such as this. God has need of His children to walk in their God given purpose to be the light and salt of the earth.
James 4:3 "You have not because you ask not"
3) Many Christians are looking for a supernatural purpose. We are looking for this purpose to roll out of the sky and crack the heavens open. We have purpose from the moment we wake up, to the moment we go to sleep. Sometimes Christians fall prey to the lie of the enemy thinking they have no purpose because they have no platform. Your family is your platform, your school is your platform, your workplace is your platform. Regardless, we should not be seeking a platform we should be seeking Christ.
4) We can't see our purpose because we are so busy looking at everyone else's. If I am honest, this is a recent conviction for me. I grew discontent with what God has called for me to do. Why? Because I began to look at what He has called others to do and I began to crash into their lane instead of simply driving in mine. Too many of us try to be someone we are not. We want to be the head when God has called us to be the feet. We want to be the feet when God has called us to be the mouth. We all have a specific role and purpose to play in the body of Christ, and we often forget we are members of ONE body (1 Corinthians 12:12) When ONE part of the body is sick, the WHOLE body is out of alignment. We need to learn to encourage one another in the different works Christ has called each of us to do. I will be the first to admit this is an area that I struggle with. There are moments I will think, "God, can't I just?..." The answer will always be NO. God will not change MY assignment simply because I don't want to do it. That's like a science teacher telling their student, "oh you don't want to do your science assignment? Ok, here is a history assignment!" Uhmmm....what?
5. Some of us have so many gifts and talents that simply have not been unfolded yet. OR...we have been given gifts we refuse to use. God blesses us and gives us gifts not just to boast in our own glory, but to give Him the glory that He deserves and be a blessing to others and draw them to Him.
So, getting back to the scripture we read that the disciples were caught up in this crazy storm and they were terrified, yet Jesus already knew what was happening and came to meet them in their NEED. He came to them before they even cried out to Him for help. God sees and knows everything we are going through before we even reach out to him...(Matthew 6:8)
Soon, we find out that the disciples were terrified of Jesus walking towards them on the water and Peter questions Jesus, "Lord, if this is really you tell me to come walking to you on the water" so what does Jesus do? Tells Peter to come on over, to walk out on the water...Peter takes that step of obedience to walk out on the water to meet Jesus and in the midst of it all, the waves became more visible and real than ever and he began to sink when he took his eyes off Christ.
Sometimes when God calls us to step out and do something, the first wave we encounter is doubt. Look at Gideon...he questioned God twice regarding the call on his life to rescue the Israelites (Judges 6:36-39). Then, as we eventually begin to step out of the boat of our comfort zone and onto the water, the waves of fear, insecurity and anxiety begin to creep in and we lose our focus. It's so easy to begin to focus on the storms of this life rather than the One who can calm the storms. When we focus on the waves crashing around us, we begin to sink as Peter did. However, in the midst of his sinking, He called out to Jesus and the bible says, Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. Jesus didn't wait a few extra minutes or take His sweet time in rescuing Peter, but He immediately reached out and grabbed him. (Yes, the SAME Peter that would later reject Jesus 3x and Jesus already knowing that moment still came, reached out and GRABBED Peter in the midst of the storm)
I don't know about you, but when the storms of this life come I am glad that God already sees them coming and has a provision for me...that provision being His son with me inside of my boat. We don't have to go through the storms of this life alone, even when it feels like we do. Jesus understands. He faced the same temptations we face, yet he never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15) He understands our weakness and He bears with us through them. It's so easy to be in a storm and think that no one understands, forgetting that Jesus is not just 100% God, but also 100% man. There is no storm in life that you are facing that He has not already faced. He has braved the winds and the waves for each of us. We can rest assured that when we invite Christ into our boat, He will calm the raging sea or give us the strength we need to fight against the waves so they do not overtake us.
God promises us that we will have TROUBLE throughout our lives here on this earth, but He also promises throughout these troubles that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
Be encouraged and take heart!
Love,
Beth
Beautiful post! I loved when you said God is not going to change your assignment just because you simply don't want to do it. So true.
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