Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Wednesday 04/21/10)

Being Pulled To Safety…

Matthew 14:27-31 (Amplified Bible)

²⁷But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid! ²⁸And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. ²⁹He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]! ³¹Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

I remember when I was younger and I was in summer camp learning to swim. I was standing close to the deep end of the pool and was pushed in; well I came close to drowning. Needless to say in that moment I was scared to death. I remember the panic that hit me, all I could think of in that moment was my circumstance. I had no clue what to do to save myself. One of the life guards threw in a life saver and a pole, one of the times I surfaced I barely heard her say grab a hold to it. I remember thinking I can’t do this. But I did and then she was able to pull me to the edge of the pool as another life guard helped by jumping in and assisting to ensure I was safe.

Within my own strength, I would not and could not have made it. I was so engulfed in my state and what surrounded me I did not have enough faith in myself or in anyone else for that matter to trust that I would be okay. Isn’t this often our story? We are in the midst of a situation or we ask God to take us out into the deep, for some of us we didn’t ask, but we got pushed out into the deep end, because when God told us to step into the deep end we wouldn’t go. But instead of being able to see the Savior, see our ability to be saved we lose our focus and begin to sink and be consumed. But God is telling us just trust me, hold onto me and I can pull you to safety. I can make your circumstance what it needs to be. I can even save you from yourself. But instead we are always thinking that we need to rely on our own abilities to get us through. We have not yet realized that what we can do for ourselves is not God. It is when we need God’s strength, His power, His grace, and His abilities to make it manifest that we know that God is in the mix. That is when we learn that He truly is a present help in our time of need and/ or trouble. That He can save us even when we cannot save ourselves. That He can change us even when we know we cannot change ourselves or our circumstance.

God wants us to trust Him, and stay focused on Him, even when we find ourselves pushed into the deep end of whatever circumstance. Ask yourself this question; is anything too hard for God? The answer is NO, There Is Nothing Too Hard For God! He can pull you to safety and keep you from all hurt harm and danger. He can take your problems and make them solvable, He can take your impossibilities and make them possible. He is truly God all by himself!