We are living in troubled times. It seems like the world has gone crazy. The world has always been a little crazy, but now the craziness has reached all-time new heights. In the last few years, we’ve been under a pandemic with COVID-19, which is something that most of us have never seen in our lifetime, where we were encouraged to get vaccinated, and to wear masks, which has caused all kinds of controversy because of the mandates where some felt their freedoms are being taken away, while others felt this needs to be done just to keep people alive. Racial turmoil, economic turmoil, political turmoil, not to mention, inflation, has our heads spinning. I don’t think our country has been more divided, in my lifetime, than it is right now, and there seems to be no hope of reconciliation. Even amongst Christians, and the Church. It seems the church is divided along the same lines as the rest of the world. With the social media platforms, we are seeing so-called pastors, and prophets preaching everything but the gospel. Not even mentioning the trials and tribulations we face in our everyday lives. Yes, we are living in troubled times. How do we navigate through these troubled times without losing our minds, our hope, and our faith?
Looking To The Book of Matthew
Matthew 14:25-31
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost”, they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”28 “Lord if it’s you,” Peter replied, “Tell me to come out to you on the water.”29 “Come,” he said.Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said. ‘Why did you doubt.”
Faith Of A Child
What does it mean to have the faith of a child? Jesus said in Luke 18:17, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”Having the faith of a child means to trust, fully trust in someone or something, regardless of what the situation looks like. We’ve all seen movies where a parent, that is known to be undependable, promises their child something, and the child, regardless of the parent’s past failures truly believes that the parent will follow through with their promise, regardless of past history, and regardless of anyone else’s opinion.
Peter’s Faith
This is the kind of faith Peter had when he first stepped out on the water. Jesus told him to come, and he just jumped out of the boat, in the middle of the lake, and walked toward Jesus. When he stepped out on the water at first his focus was on Jesus, but then he started to notice the winds, and the whipping waves, and he took his focus off of Jesus, and focused on the troubled waters. That is when he started to sink. There is a valuable lesson to learn from this.
Why Did Peter Sink?
Why did Peter sink? Because he took his eyes off of Jesus, and focused on the surrounding troubles. Even as he began to sink though, he cried out to Jesus for help, and Jesus reached out and pulled him up, while chastising him for his lack of faith. When we go through trials and tribulations, we need to keep our focus on Christ. No matter what our circumstance looks like. It is so easy though to concentrate on the source of our troubles rather than on the one who can bring us through them. How many times do we, when dealing with problems, focus on the problem, and not Christ, get in a panic wondering how we will get through this, then go and do something crazy, thinking it will help the situation, and the situation ends up being worse than it was before. Does that sound familiar? Well that is just what so many of us do.
What Should We Do?
God wants us to come to Him with all of our troubles and cares. Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” God will give us the direction we need to get past our troubles, or give us the endurance to go through them. Either way, He will be right there with us every step of the way. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” So what do we do when we are walking through the troubled waters in life? We focus on God, and look for his leading. Sometimes when we are going through troubling times, the world can seem like a very dark and lonely place, but God will give us everything we need to get through the situation.
Soar On Wings Like Eagles
Look at Isaiah 40:31. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary, they will walk and not be faint.” I can speak from experience being on both sides of the coin. There have been many situations where I got scared and did not wait on God’s guidance and direction, and tried to solve the problem myself, and ended up making a real mess of things. There have also been times when I stayed focused on God, and his direction. It can be a very hard thing to do.
An Example At Summer Camp
When I was a kid, I would go to camp every summer. At the camp I attended we would always go on a canoe trip. On the last night of our trip we had come to the point where we were across the lake from our main camp site, about 3 miles away. We were planning on returning the next day, but that evening there was a big storm and the area where we set up camp got flooded. Our counselor talked with us, and we had two choices, we either stay where we were and be flooded out, or we canoe across the lake with the storm, the wind, and the choppy waters. Well with our life jackets on, our four canoes headed out across the waters with our counselor’s canoe leading the way. We were terrified. We didn’t look to the left, or the right, but focused on our counselor’s canoe as it lead the way. The wind was whipping, and the waves were splashing over the sides of the canoe hitting us in the face, but still we just kept our eyes focused on our counselor’s canoe, and kept paddling, not looking to the left or the right, but just focusing on following his canoe. Finally, we made it to shore.
In Conclusion
That’s how we need to be when we are going through the troubled waters in our life. We can’t afford to focus on the winds, and the choppy waters in our lives, but solely focus on God, and his guidance. Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters will never fail.” Also remember, because we are all human, there will always be times when we lose our focus on Christ, and focus on our troubles, but just as Christ reached out and rescued Peter, Christ will reach out and lift us up so we will be able to continue through our troubled waters.
Pic Of The Post
The pic of this post is based on Isaiah 40:31. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary, they will walk and not faint.” To view the picture, just click on the “Pic Of The Post” link.
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