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WHEN
YOU FEEL YOU’RE SINKING
Hoping For A Miracle
– Part 6
08-12-12
Sermon
I want us to look at when you’ve got
that sinking feeling.
We are concluding
the series on miracles of Jesus and miracles in the Bible. I want us to look at a miracle that is
actually recorded three times in the Bible. Matthew records it, Mark records it and John records it. It is the miracle of Jesus walking on
the water.
Why did Jesus do
this? Jesus never did a miracle to
show off. In fact, nobody saw this
miracle except the disciples. It
was only for them. And he did it
intentionally to teach them about how to trust God in tough times, in a storm,
when you feel like you’re sinking.
The background of
the miracle we’re going to look at today is this: That afternoon Jesus had done one of the greatest miracles
that had spread all over Israel. Everybody
knew about this soon. That was the
feeding of five thousand people.
So after that Jesus
says, I’m going to head up to the mountain and I’m going to pray for a while
by myself, which is a good thing to do after you’ve had a great success in life. But then he also tells the disciples, I
want you to get in the boat; and he immediately sends them up to Bethsaida.
This miracle had happened
by the Sea of Galilee, and Bethsaida is just a little town about two hours up
the road, up the coastline. So
they’re not going to have to cross the entire lake. They’ll just hover up near the edge and they’ll be there in
a couple hours. Jesus says, go on
up to Bethsaida and I’ll be there in a little bit. I’ll see you there. But I’m going to go pray.
We pick up the
story in Mark 6:45 “Immediately [after this miracle of feeding the five
thousand] Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him
to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up
alone on a mountainside to pray. When
evening came, the boat [which had all the disciples in it] was in the
middle of the lake, [What in the world was it doing in the middle of the
lake? This is miles in the wrong
direction. All they needed to do
was just go north up the coastline.]
and he was alone on the land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars,
because the wind was against them.”
This story, as I
said, is told in Matthew, in Mark and in John. So we get details in all three. What we discover is a storm came
up. Their intended direction gets
blown off course and they’re out in the middle of the lake, and they can’t get
back to shore. They’ve been
straining at the oars because the wind was against them.
“About the fourth watch of the night [that’s three to six a.m. - in the morning] Jesus
went out to them, walking on the lake. [!!] He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking
on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.[You don’t normally see people walking
by your boat when you’re in the middle of the lake at night. So they think it’s
a ghost.] They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately Jesus spoke to them and
said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ Then he [Jesus]
climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. [The Bible tells us in another passage,
the storm stopped instantly.] They
were completely amazed, [the disciples] for they had not understood
about the loaves; [In other words they hadn’t learned the lesson of the
previous miracle. They were still
not figuring out what he was doing here] their hearts were hardened.”
What’s going on here? Jesus has a lesson of faith he wants to
teach them. A lesson about what do
you do when you feel like you’re sinking? What do you do when you feel you’re going
under? What do you do when the waves
are bashing up against you and over you and in your boat? What do you do and how do you trust
God?
We’re going to
look at that today. But before we
do I want to give you quickly five signs that you’re sinking. You may
not realize it when you’re sinking.
You may be sinking financially.
You may be sinking relationally.
You may be sinking emotionally.
You’re just drained and feel like, I’m going under. There are five symptoms of that. Here are the symptoms.
· First,
I know I’m sinking when I can’t see my way.
I just feel like
I’m in the dark. I’m in a cloud. I
don’t have any clarity. I don’t have any vision. I’m confused. The
Bible says in John 6 “By now it was dark.”
Two thousand years
ago in Israel without electricity, if you’re in the middle of a lake and storm
clouds have completely covered all of the moon and all of the stars, it’s pitch
black. You can’t see your hand in
front of you. One of the first signs
that you’re going under is you can’t see your way.
· Second,
I know I’m sinking when I feel I’m on my own.
I feel alone. I’m rowing against the storm, but I’m
all by myself. Nobody else is
helping me. I don’t know where God
is. I feel out of touch with God. The Bible says in John 6, “Jesus had
not yet joined them.” When you
feel like you’re on your own, you start getting a little frightened.
· I’m
sinking when I feel I’m out of my comfort zone.
When I start to
feel a little insecure. So they’re
in this storm and they can’t just bail out of the boat and swim back to shore. They’re
miles out. Way off course.
Maybe you’ve felt
like you’ve been blown off course by this recession or blown off course by a conflict
or blown off course by a fear of something happening. So your plans are all off course.
· Strong
forces are against me.
I feel like I’m
sinking when strong forces are against me. The Bible tells us that they were tossed and battered around
by the waves in Matthew. John tells us that the waters grew rough. Mark 6 says the wind was against them. The word that’s actually used here in Greek
where it says the waters and the waves are rough is the word megas. We get the word “mega” from it. Mega storm.
Some of you right
now may be going through a mega storm.
Strong forces are against you.
How do I know when
I’m sinking? I can’t see my way, I
feel like I’m on my own, I’m out of my comfort zone, strong forces are against
me…
· I’m
struggling, but I’m failing.
I’m doing my best,
but I’m still going under. I’m straining,
I’m struggling, I’m rowing the boat but I’m not getting back to safety. I’m not getting back to shore. I’m not making any progress. Mark 6:48 says “They were in serious
trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the winds and the waves.”
Some of you may be
feeling this way these days. You’re
in serious trouble. You’re
struggling but you’re failing.
What does God want
you to do in that situation? More
important: What does God do in this situation? What does Jesus do when I’m
sinking?
I don’t know what kind
of problem you’re going through. I
don’t know what the storms are in your life. I don’t know what area of your life you feel you’re sinking
in. But I do know this: When we go
through tough problems we typically think that God has forgotten us. We think that God is not aware, that
he’s a million miles away, that he’s not doing anything about what we’re going
through. Because if he were, we
think we’d be going through smooth sailing.
Nothing could be
further from the truth! The fact
is, every time you go through a storm, God is doing four things. We find them illustrated in this story
of Jesus walking on water.
1.
Jesus prays for me before
it happens.
Even before I hit
the storm, Jesus prays for me before I get into it. The Bible tells us in Matthew 14 that Jesus was up on the
mountain praying for his disciples as he sent them out into the storm.
Most of the time
in life when we’re going through problems, pressures, difficulties, things like
that – it’s because of our disobedience. It’s the number one cause. When I don’t do what God tells me to do,
I always get into trouble. Disobedience
causes storms.
But sometimes you
do the right thing. Sometimes you
obey what God tells you to do. You
listen to his voice and it still sends you into a storm. Some of the storms in your life don’t
necessarily mean you’re sinning. It
may mean you followed what God told you to do.
This is one of the
great lessons of Job. Job had done nothing wrong in his life and yet over a period
of a couple days he lost his entire family, he lost his entire wealth, his wife
stayed alive but he lost all of his kids.
He lost his health, he lost his reputation, he lost his power. All in just a matter of days. And Job had no idea what was going on.
The Bible tells us
Job had done nothing wrong. In fact,
God says Job was a blameless man. He
was a righteous dude. He wasn’t some
big evil, wicked, mean, bad, and nasty sinner type person. He was a good man. Yet the worst that could possibly
happen, happened to him. Job says
this in Job 19:8 “God has blocked my way and plunged my path into darkness.”
I have no doubt some
of you have felt that way. I have
this dream but … God has blocked my way and I am in darkness.
Let me just say
this. Some storms that you go
through, we’re just not going to understand until we get to heaven; so you
might as well give up. You can
spend all your time asking why, and you’re not going to get the answers, but
you can know this: that Jesus prays for me before it happens.
Jesus knows all that’s
going to happen in your life. And you know the good thing? He’s already prayed for you. Just like
Jesus was up on the mountain praying for those disciples who were out in the
storm, he’s already prayed for you through the storms you’re going to go
through this week, this month, and this year.
Here’s what he said
in Luke 22:32 “Jesus said, ‘Peter I have prayed for you, that you will not
lose your faith! Help your brothers be strong when you come back to me.” He tells this to Peter right after he says,
Here’s what you’re going to do: you’re going to deny me three times. What did Jesus do? He’d already prayed for Peter in the
storm he was going to go through.
The Bible says
that right now while he’s in heaven, Jesus’ job is praying for his children. That’s what he’s doing for you. He is interceding. That means when you talk to somebody
else on behalf of someone else.
He’s interceding for you.
Romans 8:34 when
you’re going through tough times, when you’re being tempted, when you’re
failing, when you’re losing your faith it says “Who condemns us? Not Jesus Christ, who died and then was
raised back to life and is now at the right side of God interceding for us!” Circle “is now” and “interceding.” That’s what Jesus is doing. He’s praying for you to make it through
your storms. He is now interceding
for us.
2.
The second thing Jesus does when you’re in a storm: he notices my
struggle.
He prays for me before
it happens and second, he notices my struggle, the storm I’m going through. The Bible says in Mark 6:48 “Jesus saw
the disciples straining at the oars.”
They’re trying to keep the ship afloat and trying to get back to
shore. They were straining at the oars and he saw it.
He sees where you’re
straining. Jesus sees where you’re
struggling.
Job 31:4. Job’s going through all these problems
and it says “He sees everything I do and counts every step I take.” You don’t even count every step you take. But God does. That’s how detailed he is in your life. In fact, God knows your life far, far
better than you do. He notices a
growth on your hand before you notice it. He notices something that’s out of whack in your life before
you notice it. He cares about
every detail and he’s paying attention.
Not only does
Jesus see when I’m going through the storm He also sympathizes with it.
The Bible says
this “Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are,
but he didn’t sin.” Why can Jesus
sympathize with the storms you go through? Because he went through them. God became a human being. God came to earth. That’s what Christmas is all about. God came in human form and he came as
Jesus Christ. And he lived as a
human being. So he goes, You having problems right now? Been there. Done that. He
knows what it’s like to have temptations of every possible kind. So when you talk to God about the storm
you’re in, he’s not going, I wonder what
that’s like. He’s been there. He knows the tension that you feel in your
life.
He prays before it
happens and he notices my struggle.
3. The
third thing Jesus does while I’m going through a storm is he comes at my moment
of desperation.
He comes at my
moment of desperation. At the very
moment I’m ready to give up, that is the time he shows up in my life. Not a
moment sooner and not a moment too late.
He comes to me at my moment of desperation.
The Bible says this in
Mark 6 “About the fourth watch of the
night he [Jesus] went out to them
walking on the lake.” This
verse is filled with truth. Let’s take
it apart.
First it says “about the fourth watch.” What is the fourth watch? The fourth watch is between three a.m. and
six a.m. in the morning. So these guys
are exhausted. They have been
fighting the storm now for at least nine hours. Rowing hard, trying to save the boat, trying to save their
lives, for at least nine hours.
Let me give you the
background again. Jesus, where he
had done the miracle, he puts them in the boat. Bethsaida is only two hours up the shoreline. All they have to do is get in the boat. They should have been there seven hours
ago. It’s not a hard trip. It’s kind of like Gilligan’s Island – a
three hour tour.
But sometimes a storm
comes and you’re blown way off schedule.
Have you ever had a storm blow you out of the water? Have you ever had a storm blow you off
course?
The storm has blown
them way, way off course. So they are simply exhausted. But they’re also frustrated because
they’ve worked hard at rowing. As
I said they’re not even trying to get to Bethsaida any more. They just want to get to safety.
The same thing that
happened to these guys, the disciples, happened to the sailors in the story of
Jonah. The Bible says this in Jonah
1:13 “The men did their best [they’re
in a storm too] to row back to land, but
they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.”
What does Jesus do
when you’re at your moment of desperation? I love this. “About the fourth watch of the night, he went
out to them.” He goes out to
them. When you’re at your point of
desperation, Jesus comes to you! I
like that. What a God. He doesn’t wait for me to get to him
because I can’t get to him. I’m stuck
in a boat that’s sinking in the middle of the sea. But he comes to you.
I love the fact that
Jesus did not stand on the shore line and shout instructions. “Try going this way!” When you’re in a storm
you don’t need advice; you need a miracle. You need somebody to show up − God
to show up, and to come out to you. And this is what Jesus did. He went out to where they were. He intervened in their storm. And friends, that’s the gospel. That God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling us what to
do. He comes out and meets us in our
pain, in our fear, in our depression, in our storm, in our discouragement. He comes to us. What
a God!
You may feel
abandoned right now, but you’re not.
The Bible says this in John 14 “I
will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm. I will come to you.”
Count on it!
How does he come? He comes walking on the very problem that
scares you. He’s walking on the
whitecaps. What are they afraid of?
The waves. We’re afraid that the waves
are going to kill us. What does
Jesus do? He just comes walking on
them. Jesus is making a point here. I
just want you guys to know that whatever is over your head is under my feet.
So what are you worried
about? Whatever is over your head
is under his feet. He walks on the very problem that scares you.
That leads us to the
fourth thing that Jesus does in the storm.
4. He
shows me his true identity.
Jesus shows me his
true identity. You only learn what
Jesus is really like in the storms of life. In the storms of life, you see he’s
not mere man. He’s not just a nice
teacher. He’s not an ethical leader.
He is God. The creator of
the universe.
Mark 6 “When the disciples saw him [Jesus] walking on the lake, they were terrified.
‘It’s a ghost,’ they said.” I love this. The word here in Greek, ‘it’s
a ghost’ is the word we get “phantom” from. Like Phantom of the Opera. It’s a phantom! Why? Because you don’t normally have someone come walking by in
the middle of a river or lake or ocean.
“‘It’s a ghost,’ they cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said, ‘Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” What is Jesus
doing? By walking on water, Jesus
is revealing he’s far more than a man.
The disciples had doubted that Jesus was… maybe he’s just a nice prophet
and he can do some miracles. Now he’s walking on water. He’s saying I’m God. And Jesus does three things here. He gives them reassurance. He gives them a challenge. And he gives
them revelation.
He gives them a
reassurance. He says take courage. He gives them a challenge: Don’t be afraid. And
he gives them a reassurance. He says “It
is I.”
Circle that. That’s not even the best translation. Because what Jesus actually says there
is not It is I. He says “I am”. I am – that’s what he
says. In the Greek it’s two words. Ego
ima. Ego is the word we get “ego” from – like ego trip. It is the Greek word for I. Ego
means I. And ego ima simple means “I am.” So what Jesus actually says when he walks out on the water to
these guys is “Take courage, don’t be afraid, I am.”
I am? What is he saying? I am? What does that mean?
“I am” is the name of God. When
Moses asks God “Lord, when I go to these people in Egypt and I tell them God spoke
to me and they say what’s God’s name? What am I supposed to say? And God said, “Tell
them I am sent you.”
God’s name is “I am
that I am.” Not I was. Not I will be. Not I hope to be. I am.
I am sufficient for everything in your life. When Jesus says I am,
he is saying you don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to sweat it. I am God.
Seventeen times in
the New Testament Jesus uses the phrase “I
am.” I am the bread of life. So
I can satisfy all your hungers. I am the door, so I can create opportunities
in ways that you never even thought of.
I am the vine and you’ll only
live a fruitful life if you’re connected to me. I am the good shepherd so you don’t ever have to be afraid. I’m going to take care of you. He says
I am the way out of your confusion. I am the truth that sets you free. I
am the life. You’re really
just existing until you’ve got me in your life. I am the resurrection. You don’t need to fear death. Seventeen times Jesus says ego ima - I am.
Don’t you ever forget
that when you’re going through a storm, God is not some distant, apathetic,
uninvolved God. He’s doing those four things in the storm that you’re in at
that moment.
But he also has some
things he wants you to do. Five things to do if you’re sinking. If you’re sinking in a relationship. If you’re sinking in your finances. If your health is sinking. Whatever it is, you need to do these
five things. Jesus gives us these instructions
from the story.
1)
Have courage because Jesus is with me.
That’s the starting point. I need to have courage in the storm. Why? Not because of myself but because Jesus is with me.
Remember what courage
is. Courage is not the absence of
fear. Courage is when you move ahead in spite of your fears. If you’re not afraid
you don’t need courage. Courage is
when you do the right thing even though you’re scared to death to do it. That’s courage. Doing the right thing
in spite of your fear. Not the absence of fear.
So you need to have
courage because Jesus is with me.
2) You need to take a risk in faith.
When you are most
afraid, when you are most scared, when you feel like you’re going under for the
third time and the waves are coming up against your boat and they’re lapping
into your boat and over your boat, you take a risk in faith.
In this story, in
Matthew’s telling of the story he adds a detail that John and Mark leave out. That is this: Peter walked on water too. That’s in this part of the story. Notice
it says in Matthew 14, Jesus comes walking along and Peter sees him walking along
and he says this, “‘Lord, if it’s you,’
Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ Jesus said. So Peter got out of the boat, walked on
the water and came to Jesus.”
Can you imagine what
a rush that was? You talk about the
experience of a lifetime! He got
the gold, because he’s the only competitor. “What event did you enter in the Olympics, Peter?” I’m the water walker.
Notice he says “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you
on the water.” Before jumping
out, Peter asks for ID. Lord, if
it’s you, can I join you?
Too often we get an
idea and then we ask God to bless it. Don’t
ask God to bless what you’re doing. Do what God is blessing. Say, God what do you want me to do? If it’s you, tell me; and if you tell
me, then I’m out of the boat in an instant.
And he jumps out of
the boat. Peter had learned the lesson
that is the most important lesson you need to learn from this text. It’s this: It is safer to be with Jesus out of the boat than in the boat without
Jesus. When you’re in a storm,
when you’re handling a crisis – an emotional crisis or any other crisis – it is
safer to be out of the boat with Jesus than it is to be back in the boat
without Jesus. Does that make
sense?
Peter knows it’s safer
out there than it is here because Jesus is out there. He really didn’t want to
walk on water as much as he just wanted to be with Jesus. So what you need to do is not focus on
the storm but focus on him. He
says if I can be with Jesus, the walking on
water is the easy part. If I’m
with the Lord, he’s going to take care of my needs.
I love the fact that
Jesus says to Peter, he doesn’t say you’ve got to be kidding, Peter. No. He
says, Come on down. Come on down,
Peter.
I bet Jesus was so
pleased when Peter said can I come out there too? Can I come out there and be with you? Lord, it’s scary but I want to be with
you.
That pleases the
Lord. I’m sure Jesus smiled when
he said, Come on! Come on out
Peter. So Peter hops out of the boat
and he goes over there. He has the
experience of a lifetime. And
Jesus is pleased. Why? Because faith always pleases Jesus.
The Bible says
without faith it’s impossible to please God. If you’re not taking any risks, you
can’t possibly please Jesus. Because
it doesn’t require any faith. If nothing
in your life requires faith then you’re not living by faith. So you need to
take a risk and as John Ortberg’s famous book says, if you want to walk on water
you’ve got to get out of the boat.
Where do you need to
get out of the boat right now? You
want to walk on water? You’ve got
to get out of the boat. You’ve got
to take a risk. You have courage
because Jesus is with you.
3)
Stay focused on Jesus.
This is what you need
to do if you’re sinking. Don’t get
your eyes on anything else. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Because the moment you get your eyes off
the Lord, you’re going under.
This is what
happened to Peter. In verse 30 it
says “But when Peter looked around
[oh-oh! There’s trouble!] when Peter looked
around at the high waves, he was terrified [well duh!] and he began to sink, ‘Save me, Lord!’ he shouted.”
Again this verse is
filled with truth. First, it says
when Peter looked around. Every
time you start looking at your circumstances you’re going down. If you look at the world you’ll be distressed, if you look within you’ll
be depressed, if you look at Christ
you’ll be at rest. It’s all in what you have your focus on.
So keep your eyes on
the Lord. He looked around. What had changed? Nothing. Same waves, same storm, same darkness, same boat, same
Jesus, same Peter. One moment he’s
walking on water, and the next moment he’s sinking. What’s the only difference? The difference is what he’s looking at.
What are you looking
at? If you look at your problems, you’re
going down. You’re sinking.
Someone suggested
maybe someone in the boat called out.
“Peter you can’t do that!” like doubting Thomas!
There will always be
people in the boat that tell you it can’t be done. They’re not going to get out
of the boat. They’re not going to trust
Jesus. They’re not going to take
any risk. They’re going to sit back and criticize you for doing it. “You
can’t do that Peter. Don’t you
know, nobody can walk on water? Haven’t
you heard? It’s impossible.” Never listen to opinions in the boat
when God tells you to get out of the boat. If God tells you to do it, it’s going to work. But just make sure, is it you, Lord,
who told me to do it.
When I trust instead of think, I walk instead of sink.
Change your focus. Stop
focusing on all your problems. Stop
focusing on how you are going to solve your problems and start spending time
with the Lord. You need to listen
to the Lord. You’re going to look
at the problem or you’re going to look at the solver. Stay focused on Jesus.
4)
The fourth thing Jesus tells them to do in the storm is don’t doubt.
You need to believe
your beliefs and you need to doubt your doubts. Doubts are meant to be doubted. Beliefs are meant to be believed.
Peter looks around and
he starts to sink. The Bible says
in verse 31 “Immediately Jesus reached
out his hand and caught him ‘You of little faith,’ he said. ‘Why did you doubt?’” I don’t even think this was that big of
a rebuke to Peter, because at least Peter had gotten out of the boat. Notice Jesus reaches down and says “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”
Notice he didn’t
say, “You of no faith.” The no
faith people were those who never got out of the boat. They are the no faith people. The people who never get out of the boat,
who just want to criticize those who do get out. But he says “you of
little faith.”
What is this saying? Jesus is saying it only took a little
faith to walk on water. A lot of
times we think the problem we don’t have any miracles is because we don’t have
great faith. You don’t need great faith. It’s not the size of your faith that matters; it’s the size of
your God. Put a little faith in a
big God and you get big results. On the other hand, if you have big faith but
you put it in the wrong thing, you’re going to get no results.
What is faith? Faith is something you do. You’ve got to get out of the boat to
show faith. Faith isn’t, oh I
believe! I believe! No, you’ve got to put it on the line. The other guys have no faith. Peter
takes the risk.
Everybody has faith. We’re not talking about having faith or
not. We’re talking about who you
put it in. You put it in all the wrong
things and that’s why you get disappointed. Put your faith in God!
5)
Praise God.
Praise God even in
the situation. Even in the storm. Even when you feel like you’re sinking. Even when you’re scared to death. Praise him all the time. You thank God in the storm.
You have two options
in storms. You can either worry or
you can worship. You’ll do one or the other. You can either panic or you can pray. You can tremble or you can trust. You can
have fear or you can have faith. It
is your choice. Worry or worship.
Matthew 14 it says “When Jesus climbed into the boat, the wind
died down.” The other chapters
in John and Mark tell us that the storm stopped instantly. Here we’ve got the fourth miracle. Instant
stop of the storm. “When Jesus climbed into the boat, the storm
stopped. Then those who were in
the boat worshipped him. [circle
“worshipped him”] saying ‘Truly you are
the Son of God.’”
The Titanic was
supposed to be unsinkable. There’s
only been one unsinkable boat ever created. It was this little fishing boat. Because when Jesus is in your boat, it
isn’t going to sink. There’s no
way it’s going to sink if Jesus is in the boat.
Prayer:
Would you pray
this prayer? Dear Jesus, you know
the storms I’m going through right now that scare me to death. I can’t see my
way. It’s dark. I often feel like
I’m on my own. I’m definitely out of
my comfort zone. I feel like strong
forces are against me. I’m being
tossed and battered around. The
waters are rough and the winds against me. I’ve been struggling for nine hours,
but failing. I’m not any closer to security and safety than I was nine hours
ago. Thank you for praying for me. Thank you that you knew this was going
to happen even before it happened.
Thank you that you are interceding for me in heaven right now. Thank you that you notice my struggle. Thank you that you count every step I
take. Thank you that you’re able to
sympathize with my weaknesses. Thank
you that you come to me at my point of desperation. In the fourth watch you come out to me walking on the
problems that are scaring me. Thank
you that you’ve promised to never abandon me as an orphan in the storm but you
will come to me. Help me to see
you for who you are in this situation. Help me to take courage because you’re with me. Help me to
not be afraid because the great I am is in my midst. Help me to take that risk of faith and do the thing I fear
the most. Help me to get out of
the boat so I can walk on water. Help me to stay focused on you, Jesus, and not
keep looking at the high waves which terrify me and cause me to sink. Lord, I pray the prayer that Peter
prayed, save me, Lord. I say it
with passion. I say it with pointedness.
I say it directed to you: save me, Lord.
Help me to not doubt but to praise you in the middle of the storm, to
worship you instead of worry, to trust you instead of tremble, to pray instead
of panic. I open my life completely to you, Jesus Christ. Be the captain of my ship, the manager
of my life, the Lord of me. In
your name I pray. Amen.