Let’s talk about faith
Brothers and Sisters,
It’s time to get real here, buckle up. I’m sure there is so much going on in each of your lives. We all have jobs, families, friends, communities, and responsibilities. We have standards that we want to live up to, places to be, and things we want to do. It’s so easy to get caught up in the distractions of our lives and take our eyes off Jesus. A story that comes to mind is when a disciple named Peter walked on water. Matthew 14:22–33 reads:
[22] Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. [23] And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening 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. [26] But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. [27] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” [28] And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” [29] He 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.” [31] Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” [32] And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (ESV)
What stands out is that Peter saw the wind. I don’t know about you, but we can’t see wind. We have faith that it’s there because we feel it and see its effects on leaves, dust, grass, and water. This passage is about faith, and when it mentions that Peter “saw the wind” it means he perceived the danger it represented. Peter began to worry about the present danger that the wind was causing, and he began to sink. In other words, he shifted his focus onto the circumstances in his life and took his eyes off Jesus.
This is an example that faith is a gift from God. Notice that Peter asked Jesus to command him to walk on the water, and Jesus did. In doing so, Peter wasn’t asking for Jesus to control his body; rather, he sought Jesus’ command as an affirmation of his faith. When Peter stepped out of the boat, he acted in faith on Jesus' word. However, as Peter walked on the water towards Jesus, he became aware of the wind and waves and began to doubt. This shift in focus from Jesus to his circumstances caused him to start sinking. Peter's cry, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus’ immediate response to reach out and rescue him, emphasize that even when our faith falters, Jesus is there to save us. Jesus’ question, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” highlights the importance of keeping our eyes on Him, no matter the storms we face.
We all have mountains in our life that we’re trying to climb, get past, or even get rid of, but what’s hard is holding on to the timing of it all. I’ve recently been praying in the same way that Peter asked Jesus to command him to walk on water towards Him. Peter did, but when he got close enough, he started sinking. It’s hard to see what God is doing in our lives daily, and it’s easy to focus on the worry of whether or not we will be able to put one foot in front of the other like Peter did. But we can find comfort in the fact that He is working in all of us.
As Christians, it’s important that we make each other aware of the ways God has used people in our lives. Before I get back to Peter, I wanted to talk about someone in my family that I hold very close to my heart: my dad’s mother, Mamaw. Simply put, I don’t deserve her as a grandmother. Every week, since 6th grade, without fail, she has sent a letter to me and my siblings, my cousins, and more. That’s at least six letters. Each one is personal, hand-written, and often includes funny stickers, poems, verses, fun facts, quotes, and sayings. She’s a very intelligent woman. Every card doesn’t have a poem or a fun fact; some may only have 1-2 stickers. But one part that I can always count on is the saying: “Always remember Jesus loves you!!!!” usually followed by a couple of exclamation points. Hidden in that message are the same sentiments in Peter’s story. This quote is the key to endurance, perseverance, and faithfulness. How can we have faith if we constantly fill our minds with doubts and remind ourselves of bad circumstances? If we always remember that Jesus loves us, we don’t have to worry, fear, or lose faith. If Peter had reminded himself that Jesus loves him, he might not have started to sink.
Another part of my relationship with my grandmother that I want to share with you is her faithfulness. She’s been writing those letters for 10 years. Up until last month, I had not written her back once. I’m literally a horrible grandson. The more I thought about my grandmother the past year, I wondered how many times she might have thought I didn’t care for her letters or didn’t want them, because I never write back. I love her letters. I recall last summer when I would intentionally leave her letters unopened and open them when I was feeling down or missed her. During those times, I’m sure she thought about stopping. Maybe she didn’t, but I know I would’ve, and I probably would’ve stopped myself. But she didn’t. She had faith in me and my love and appreciation for her letters because she knows me. Jesus knows each and every one of us. He knows that we’ll doubt. He knew we’d sin. Not only does He know us like that, but He still chooses to love us, even if we doubt, even if we shift our focus away from Him. Peter began to sink, yes, that’s true, but Jesus reached out and pulled him out of the water. You can expect to be pulled out of the water at some point too. I doubted God for a long time, and out of nowhere, He pulled me out of the water.
Had my grandmother doubted if I cared about her letters, my letter to her a few weeks ago pulled her out of the water just like Jesus did to Peter. We can learn a lot about Jesus through Peter’s story. Jesus chose to love at every part of the story. He told the disciples not to be afraid, He comforted them, He did what Peter asked Him to (not because Peter is in authority over Jesus in any way, let’s make that clear), He knew Peter well, He knew Peter was doubting, and Jesus saved Peter from his lack of faith. Everything, even our faith, is a gift from Jesus. We have to accept it. That brings me to this point:
Everyone likes to say they’re busy, including myself.
It’s an excuse not to do something. Whether we’re actually busy or not is my concern here. If you are actually busy, you’re being honest and telling the truth. If you’re not actually busy, you’re sinning when you say that you’re busy. You’re doubting your own ability to include something or someone in your schedule. If you spend more than an hour on your phone each day, you’re not busy, you’re distracted. You’re watching the wind and hypnotizing yourself with the waves, and it’s causing you to sink. It’s causing you to stop doing what God commanded you to do.
To wrap this up, I want you to think about what you think about. Think about where your attention is every hour of every day. What are you reminding yourself of? Are you always reminding yourself of the darkness in your life? Are you constantly thinking about how dangerous the city is? Are you always reminding yourself of how that person treated you? Why aren’t you thinking about the fact that Jesus died for you? Why aren’t you thinking about God’s love for us? Why aren’t you thinking about how the God of the universe gave up His son for you? That’s why you’re doubting; you’re forgetting about who He is. Get real with yourself; this isn’t a fairytale. The wind IS blowing. We ARE in a spiritual battle, but we ARE loved. Always remember that Jesus loves you!!!
In the mean time, always remember Jesus’s sacrifice, and be sure to honor God in everything you enter, can, say, wish, will, want, remember do, pray, tell, think, or believe and choose the narrow gate.
-Elijah