Daily Devotional August 28 - Don't flinch

"And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them , saying, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"  Matthew 14:25-31

This story tells us about faith and how it works. Peter asked if he could walk on the water (a miracle) and Jesus bid him to come. Peter did walk on the water. At times in life we go to Jesus and ask Him to work out a situation for us, usually something quite alarming, possibly requiring a miracle. It is like stepping out of the boat onto the water. Then the power of God is engaged and we see that we are actually walking on the water; things are working out, the problem is going away, the answers are coming, the level of fear is diminishing, for a moment you even think that it is fully resolved. Then doubt sets in, you get a piece of mail that sends you through the roof, you hear something that someone said that irks you, you see in a distance that the waves are big and you wonder if you can stand up to them, the winds begin to blow and you feel the first wave of the breeze on your shoulder and you start to tremble.

At this point you are not walking on the water anymore, you are sinking even deeper than before. You start to lose hope, all kinds of thoughts are racing through your head telling you that your circumstances are greater than the miracle. Your faith is waning.

Take a look at the situation in the story. Has Jesus gone anywhere? Has Jesus called back His miracle of allowing Peter to walk on the water? Did Jesus say "Peter start to sink?" Was the power that caused Peter to walk on the water pulled out from under him? Was it inevitable that Peter must sink? No to all the above. It was his faith that made him able to walk on the water and his lack of faith that he sank.

Faith is supernatural. There is no faith except what God gives to those who trust Him. Faith connects the natural life that we live with the supernatural life of God. Faith is the direct connect to all that God has available to mankind. Faith is where miracles are born and faith is where we need to live if we want to transcend our circumstances.

Doubt on the other hand is the antithesis to faith. You really can sink when doubt sets in. No one is immune to it potential potency. Doubt causes our faith to become weak. Doubt allows fear to come in and abide. Doubt can make you say things to God that you will regret. Doubt is a faith killer and faith is a doubt killer.

Next time Jesus calls you out to walk on the water; get out of the boat and keep your eyes on Jesus, don't flinch, stay focused and you will not sink like Peter did.