by Jim Hughes
Matt. 14:25-29a About three o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them at once, “It’s all right,” he said, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you by walking on water. “All right, come.” Jesus said.
Has life ever frightened you, really frightened you? Usually we get scared the most when the unexpected happens and we think we are in danger. Circumstances can really overwhelm us. We get ourselves into situations that we can’t handle and we imagine the worst. We don’t see any way that it can be good and we get scared of what might happen. It causes us to pull back or run away from our circumstances.
Yet, there is Jesus. For those of us who know Him, there is nothing to fear. His very presence reassures the soul and calms our fears. When we fix our thoughts and hearts on Him, there is a peace that takes over and enables us to put things in their proper perspective. Instead of seeing the bad that might be, we see the good that is.
When we fixate on the Lord, we begin to see ourselves as able to do what we thought was impossible. We no longer fear what is going on around us, we step out boldly where we have never stepped before. No matter how stormy things may be, with our eyes fixated on Jesus we can handle them. It’s when we take our eyes off the Lord and look at the storms and what we are trying to do that we begin to sink and drown.
Jesus bids you to step out into the stormy waters and take His hand. Trust Him and you will overcome. You can do it because the Lord says you can.
About the Author:
Spending his formative years in Ft. Wayne, IN, Jim followed the love of his life to southeast Iowa where they married and have spent the majority of their lives. Jim has pastored several churches throughout his life and has worked many years in local factories to help support his family. The father of two married adult children and one son still at home, Jim is a first-time author.
C Through Marriage came into being through many years of pastoral and life experiences. The book first took on a life of its own over 20 years ago when I sought to address the much publicized moral failures of prominent leaders in the church. In the chapter on Chasity, I include the guideliness that I developed then to protect one’s self from such failures.
I am a firm believer in order to make sense out of life you have to use much common sense. We need to get back to the basics of what has worked for many, many generations. If is isn’t broke, why try to fix it? I strive to return to the basics of what really works in all my writings.