Not by Might nor by Power . . .
'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!" (Matt. 15: 29B, 30)
In the midst of a storm, Jesus comes walking on the water to the aid of His
disciples. At first they are afraid, and even after hearing Jesus' reassuring
voice, Peter puts Him to the test: "Lord, if it's you, . . . tell me to come to
you on the water." (Matt 14:28-29) Jesus doesn't even hesitate:
"'Come,' he said." (Matt. 15:29a).
Much to the surprise of everyone looking on, Peter actually succeeds in prancing
over the tops of the waves, with not even so much as the soles of his sandals
going beneath the surface. But then, he takes his eyes off of Jesus, and
immediately he begins to sink.
What a powerful lesson this story has to teach! Aren't we all like Peter once in
awhile? God reveals new truth through His Word, and after much study into the
subject, we are one day ready to put it to the test: "Lord, if it is really true
that the Holy Spirit can empower man to be able to do this, empower me!" And,
not surprisingly, He complies. "Come, my child!" he says, and the next thing we
know we are experiencing what we may have believed for years was not possible.
It is exciting. It is invigorating! But then, we, like Peter, begin to look
around us. Perhaps it is pride that makes our gaze shift, or maybe even fear.
But whatever it is, we take our eyes off of Jesus and begin to rely on ourselves
instead. We forget that we can only do these things through the Power of the
Holy Spirit, and like Peter, we sink into the storm!
But the good news is that the moment we cry out to Him, Jesus is always there!
"Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him." (Matt 14:31) Yes, no
matter how often we falter, no matter how often we fall into the same traps over
and over again, all we have to do is cry out to Jesus, and He immediately
reaches "out His hand."
Lord, Help us to always stay focused on You. May we always remember: "'Not by
might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." (Zech 4:6). But
thank you for always being there to pick us back up whenever our pride and our
fear makes us begin to sink!
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,