Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Are You Willing To Get Out Of The Boat?

Matthew 14:29 "And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus."

Jesus told the disciples to get in the ship and take it to the other side. Jesus (being God and knowing all things) knew they would encounter a storm. The Lord had been praying on the mountain and no doubt had been praying for them. Let me just say right here that I'm glad the Lord is praying for me!!

These men had struggled to make any progress at all in the storm. Remember now...the winds were boisterous and the waves were tremendous. Yet they kept going. They did not turn back. They knew the Lord had sent them on this journey.

They were tired and exhausted. They were in the darkest part of the storm. (vs. 25) "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." Then Jesus showed up. Jesus will do that in the midst of our storm. Just when we think our storm can't get any worse and things are the darkest they've been yet...Jesus will show up.

He came to them when they couldn't get to Him. They think they are seeing things when they see Him coming. (vs. 27) "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." He told them not to be afraid. The safest place for them to be was in the boat. That boat was not going to sink. He wanted them there.

Peter then questioned if it was the Lord walking toward them on the water. He asked Jesus to bid him to step out and walk on the water. Jesus then granted Peter's request. Peter stepped out.

You know we tend to give Peter a hard time about Peter losing sight of the Lord...but at least he got out of the boat. Think about it...would you have gotten out of the boat? Would you have trusted the Lord enough to get out of the boat? Many of us wouldn't even had done that much...yet Peter did.

He was walking on the water for a time. The winds were still blowing and the sea was still horrific. At that point he became afraid and cried out "Lord, save me." Jesus also granted this request. Peter realized he needed the Lord. Once he was back in the boat the storm ceased.

Your storm will cease. He will also not let you sink. Cry out to Him and trust Him. One thing the disciples failed to do was praise Him in the midst of the storm. They waited till the storm was passed. God deserves and wants our praise in the midst of our storm. I Thessalonians 5:18 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." We need to give thanks in our storm. It is not easy to praise Him in the storm. If you'll do that He will strengthen you and help you to make it to the other side.

So the next time things are looking like your storm can't get any worse or darker...step out of the boat and trust the Lord to save you. He sees the storm and knows what you are facing in it.

16 comments:

Tori Leslie said...

Very good Julie,
I really enjoyed that little devotion this morning. II haven't been around here for a while so I have some reading to do, huh???

Sis. Julie said...

sis. tori....Wow!! What a blessing to see you back here. I've seen you around at other ladies' blogs and thought that you had chosen to not come by here due to having so many others that you try to keep up with. Thank you for coming by and letting me know you were here.

Anonymous said...

Mrs Julie this is a great post with great points. I am glad the Lord is praying for me too, and that whatever I go through that God is in the midst of my storm. God has never failed nor will ever leave me. So many Christians leave him when they are in the middle of the storm and see no way out but he is waiting for us to stop relying on our idea's and trust him before he takes the storm away. Praise the Lord for this post. I hope many read it and get help from it.

Bro Tim

Sis. Julie said...

bro. tim....Amen!! I'm glad that the Lord blessed you with this post. This is actually the notes that I took from the message Preacher preached Sunday morning. I told you it was an awesome message!!

Susannah said...

This is one of my favorite Bible stories! Can you imagine walking on water? Thanks for the words of encouragement today.

Hugs, e-Mom

PamelaK said...

Sister Julie -
This was a terrific message with many important points. I read it several times over. Thank you for posting it! And thank you for adding in the reminder that the Lord is praying for us! I join you in sure being glad about that!

Sis. Julie said...

e-mom....Thank you for your comment. I can't imagine walking on water. But I would like to think I had enough faith to do so if the Lord bid me to.

Sis. Julie said...

pamelak...I'm thankful this blessed you so. It sure did me and the altar filled at the end of the message. I believe every family and every individual in our church needed the message.

Kristi said...

AAAAAAAAMEN~~God does want to hear us sing during our darkest moments, doesn't He? If we'll only trust His hand!

~Kristi

Sis. Julie said...

sis. kristi...yes He does. And that is the most difficult time to do so. And the reason we find it difficult is because we don't truly trust Him like we should be.

TO BECOME said...

I am so thankful that Jesus goes through all the storms in my life with me and sometimes even carries me I do believe. By the way, I have always loved Peter. He always made mistakes but he always after the Lord for forgiveness and Jesus did. I loved your post. connie from Texas

Sis. Julie said...

sis. connie....Peter is a very good example for us of how although we fail (as Peter did many times) that Jesus is faithful to forgive. Love you!

HsKubes said...

Great post! Thank you for sharing this admonition.

~ Christina

Sis. Julie said...

sis. christina...you are so welcome.

~~Deby said...

great reminder to Praise in the Storm....because they do come...and right now I feel I am in the eye of the hurricane...so thank you Julie.
Deby

Sis. Julie said...

sis. deby....I'm so sorry that things are so terrible right now for you. God is right there with you bidding you to come unto Him. You're being faced with the question of "Are you going to stay in the boat or step out on the water and walk toward Him?" I'm praying for you Sister!!

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