January 15th

❀ ❁ January 15^th ❀ ❁

^"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..." Matthew 14:30-31, NIV

Peter is the only disciple on the boat, but he is the only one who risks his life to walk out with his Lord. It was not the popular choice.  The others may have even been judging the seemingly unwise choice to leave the boat. When Peter notices just how rough the waters are, he is filled with fear.  Just as soon as Peter realizes he cannot tread the water himself, that he needs Jesus or he will die, he is lifted up and saved.

There cannot be enough emphasis on these verses.  Often in life we fret and worry and doubt.  Circumstances arise that leaving us with knotted stomachs, headaches, tears, anger, and fear.  We continue to believe we alone have to handle these trials alone. 

We sit in court with no one on our side except the public defender who is over-worked and just wants to get this hearing over. We sit across from our child's principal and assorted school staff, whose words betray their amazement that you could such a bad parent that it's come to this.  We sit in the hospital, holding her hand as she dies, wondering why you didn't spend more time with her.  We get served with the divorce papers and wonder how we could have failed so miserably as a wife.  We try and try and can't seem to have that relationship with our parent that others seem to have, wondering why we are so broken and bad that we don't have something so universal and simple.  We sit alone in a bathroom, holding something sharp, wondering where all this pain came from. 

We never seem to know He sits with us, crying with us, holding us.  He tries to make Himself known but we don't listen.  It's not our pride but our pain and our past that keep us from Him, when our pain and our past are the greatest gifts we could give him. 

Pray for grace to keep your eyes on Him as you walk out to meet Him. 

Ask Him today to save you from drowning in the world.