How To Avoid drowning

Matthew 14 includes the story of the frightening storm that was intimidating seasoned sailors. These fishermen thought this was the big one. They were going down.

But here comes Jesus, walking on the water. This confused the disciples, of course, and they had to be assured He wasn’t a ghost. Peter makes an interesting decision; “if you aren’t a ghost, tell me to walk out to you”!

Well Jesus says “come”, and Peter walks out on the water in the middle of the storm.

I wonder how often I’ve encountered a storm and feel like I am done for? Never mind walking through it, I just hope to make it through alive. But here the difference between Peter and the other disciples is the level of expectation. Peter asks for a word from Jesus. In essence he’s saying “Lord, if you really have this under control, talk to me and I’ll trust you more than I trust what I am experiencing”.

Are you facing a storm? You may understand that Jesus is there, but you are not hearing him speak. He can, with a word, calm the storm, but sometimes He talks us through it before it calms down.

But we have to hear His voice.

And He is talking. If we open up the Bible to read and open up our hearts to hear, I’m convinced we can and will perceive what Jesus is saying to us. I’ve found in the midst of a difficult time a word from God gives me the strength to walk on top of the tumultuous water instead of being sucked in by it.

If you are facing a storm–if you feel like you are about to go under–can I encourage you to ask Jesus to speak to you so you can face it without fear?