Encouragement to Move on

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This Time Don't Stop Seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord save me!" (Matthew 14:30) Does it seem that you always get to a certain place in your walk with God, only to fall back into sin and former habits, that deep inside you really don't want to do? Look closely and some might discover that it happens when things are actually going really good for you spiritually. That doesn't make sense. Why would we turn away from Jesus, when we are closer to Him than ever? The answer is the same as why Peter would decide to be fearful in the middle of what was the greatest feat ever performed by any human being - walking on water. Jesus had come to the disciples walking on the water one night, as they tried to row a boat against the wind. After first being frightened at the sight of Jesus, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water at Jesus' command. Literally, Peter was standing on the Word of God...until he decided to think about the wind and waves, instead of Jesus! That is when the verse above came to pass. Filled with doubt, he began to sink. "Why did he decide to consider the weather... something totally unrelated to his being able to walk on water?" It was unrelated, because Peter could only walk on water because Jesus commanded it, not because the weather was "just right"! Nevertheless, it was enough to make him afraid and quit believing. I believe Peter chose to look at the wind and waves because they were a good reason for him to quit, much the same way we find. a reason to stop the progress we are making with the Lord. It is called Self-Sabotage... because we don't feel that "we are worthy to be succeeding like this", we find a way to mess it up. Failure (sinking) feels more "right", normal, comfortable. "Why am I walking on water?! I shouldn't be doing this!" The way to press through this barrier, is to realize that Peter could never have walked on water in the first place without Jesus' ability, and neither can we can do anything apart from Him. Jesus' love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness are unfathomable. You wouldn't even have the desire to seek Him if He had not placed it in you! It is all Him! Never forget that. And as you get closer and things get better, your new comfort may actually feel uncomfortable. But this time, don't stop. We were never worthy to begin the journey. He is the reason for everything!