Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 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. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:25-31
God is never late nor does He go missing from our lives. He gives simple commands and little detail. We hear the simple commands, but we want more details. Sometimes God does not give details at all, just direction. These directions may look crazy to everyone else, and they won’t usually make any sense to us. God is simple in what He asks, and many times we try to make it more complicated than it is.
The Simplicity of His Commands
Come – Just come – to Him. That’s all, but we are programed to want more. Peter and the disciples were in a boat in a storm, and Jesus comes walking on the water towards them, telling them Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid (Matthew 14:27). Peter replies Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water. Jesus invites him to come and Peter steps out of the boat, taking careful baby steps on the surface of the water, keeping his eyes on Jesus. But then, Peter looks away, focusing on the storm – the waves and the wind - and he begins to sink. So come but keep your focus on Christ all the way. The minute we take our eyes off of Him, our faith shifts onto something that will not keep us afloat in the storm.
Stay – Even in the storm, He sometimes says “Stay” because He has a purpose in the storm and a blessing on the other side. We skip right over the “Stay” and look for Him to either make the storm stop or deliver us out of the storm. But there is always a lesson in the storm, and it is always a lesson we need. When we are called to stay in a storm, we must keep our focus on Jesus or we will sink. The wind and waves will crash around us and into us, but He is our anchor. He can keep us steady and give us peace. Staying, especially when we don’t understand why, is the hardest thing to do, and it requires greater faith. But if He tells us to stay, He will give us everything we need to stay well.
Go – where? Sometimes we don’t even know the “where” when we hear the “Go”. In Genesis Abraham heard the “Go” and God said He would tell him where later. He had to have a lot of faith in God to pack up his whole household and go to a location to be disclosed at a later date.
Love – Who? Everyone. Everyone. That means the hard to love people also. The sinners (we all are!), the outcasts, the down-and-outs. We are all created by the same God and He doesn’tlove us any more than He loves them. We are given so much grace by Him, how could even think of not having grace for others?
Rest – This one is hard. Rest in Him. Trust in Him. Let it go and let Him have it all. Stop. Whatever has you spinning and reeling, just stop and sit with Him.
Abide – And then, when you stop and sit with Him, remain in Him. Continue to dwell in Him and with Him in everything you do every day.
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16
