As I sit here..

22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before
him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he
had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to
pray. Whenevening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this
time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the
wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he
came to them, walking on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him
walking on the sea,they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!"
and they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them,
saying,
"Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
28And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come
to you on the water." 29He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat
and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the
wind,he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save
me." 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him,
saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Matthew 14:22-31

...As I sit here reading this in the cool breeze I imagine the
winds of this storm. I paint a picture in my mind of what it would
have been like to be Peter and I ponder the thought, would I have
done the same...and then I realize I do.

Our Pastor spoke a little on this Sunday morning and well
it interested
me so much I haven't quit thinking about it. The story is so
much more deep then I think most people realize.

As I sit here I think of the closeness,the relationship, the love
Peter and Jesus shared...Jesus walked, talked, and guided Peter...
yet Peter at one point still doubted. God help us.

As I sit here I reflect on my life and ask, what is it that causes
me to take my eyes off Jesus like Peter did??
The bible says Peter walked to Jesus on water, but when he saw
--the winds,{your problems}
the storms {your problems become bigger}
he was--terrified and lost faith. Oh if only we could look aside our
problems and storms and keep our eyes & faith fixed on Jesus...

As I sit here I link this to my personal life. When things
are going good I'm chipper, happy and joyful as can be...I see
myself walking closer and closer to Jesus--But satan and his demons
rage in anger to see someone love Jesus and trust in Him so much.
The bible says he is like a lion, prowling..roaming..seeking someone
(to take their eyes off Jesus) to devour and destroy. 1 Peter5:8
Lucky for us " we have overcome Satan because greater is He that
is in US then he that is in the world" 1 John 4:4

As I sit here I literally think of the times where even the
smallest distraction made me take my eyes of Jesus. You know
what that little distraction was? No Sleep. Satan (not to give
him any credit) fills our
lives with distractions (winds) that cause our boat to start
rockin.
We become off balance, disoriented and dazed. I don't know
about anyone else, but without sleep I'm good for nuthin'. I need
my rest. Everyone does, but even though it seems small it's a
spark that maginifies the flame. Example of a distraction:

NO SLEEP
Late night taking care of a sick baby
in the morning--you oversleep and are in too much of a hurry
to read your devotional so you manage
to sing through a worship song on your way to work
and even then you're still tired so it was half tail.
you try the tricks of Coffee, Dr. Pepper (you know that only last a
little while)
you end up having a Bad day at work and the stress of it
exhausts you even
more..
You speed home only to get a ticket cause you're so tired...all
you want is to just. get. home.
you have dinner, dishes, bathe the children, make time for
your husband
he says something to correct you while cleaning...well
your fuse is small and you immediately
snap back. (Satan loves destorying homes and marriages)
you later apologize and hope to read some bible. You're reading
the words but not fully engaged. You're eye lids close and you
think
i'll pick back up tomorrow..(not at one point of the day have you
even really acknowledged the one who loves you most)
you try to say your prayers...and well you fall asleep half way thru..

So you see,
As I sit here and think of this scenario I picture myself sinking
like Peter. Something as small as this, and the reason I say that
is because everyday we must take up our cross and follow Jesus
regardless of circumstances.

As I sit here I think of how we can all be Peters. For some it
could be bills, finances, un-happy marriage, addictions,etc and
all those storms Jesus can all calm. As I sit here I think, I would
never want to hear Jesus repeat the words He spoke of to Peter
"O
you of little faith"... I would be too embarrassed to even look at
His face. You see we at times think we can do anything on our own,
we can handle it, we're grown--we got this. But that is so far from
the truth, Jesus is our only hope in the rotting world. I chose to
renew my faith in Jesus today as I reflect on His word because no
matter what distractions or problems may arise I know one thing to
be true. Jesus is always at arms reach and even when we make mistakes
and feel ourselves sinking--He never fails to save us before we drown
in our storm.


...never tell your God how big your problem is but tell your
problem how BIG YOUR GOD IS.



~Est