{"id":126,"date":"2013-06-19T21:23:03","date_gmt":"2013-06-19T21:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihsteps.com\/wordpress\/?p=126"},"modified":"2013-06-19T21:23:03","modified_gmt":"2013-06-19T21:23:03","slug":"qprotection-against-sinkingq-by-tammy-maseberg-june-19-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/?p=126","title":{"rendered":"“PROTECTION AGAINST SINKING” By Tammy Maseberg, June 19, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeter said to Him, \u2018Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.\u2019 And He said, <\/em>\u2018Come!\u2019 <\/em>And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.<\/em> <\/em>But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, \u2018Lord, save me!\u2019\u201d (Matthew 14: 28-30, NAS) <\/em> <\/span> <\/p>\n

We read this passage and wonder how Peter could\u2019ve been full of trust and walking on the water one minute and then, in an instant, sinking beneath the surface.\u00a0 It\u2019s obvious to us, 2000 years later, that he stayed on top of the waves as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.\u00a0 Peter, Peter\u2014how could you be so faithless, so flaky?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

Oh, I think I\u2019m very much like Peter.\u00a0 The storms of life come along (illness, financial struggles, etc.), and I wonder why I feel like I\u2019m sinking deep into the dark, dangerous water of life.\u00a0 If I step back and get still before God\u2014I will have to admit that I took my eyes off of the Lord.\u00a0 Why is it so easy to look at the turmoil nearby instead of focusing on the One who can save us from seemingly overpowering circumstances?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

My humanness is so frustrating sometimes!\u00a0 It\u2019s not that God turns away from me\u2014it\u2019s that I turn away from Him and try to do things on my own.\u00a0 The Lord has brought me through so many difficult times.\u00a0 So, why do I still take my eyes off Him in the midst of the noise in life? Instead, my concentration drifts to the things of the world\u2014good and bad\u2014and I forget about my Savior.\u00a0 And like Peter, I soon find myself sinking and calling out to the Lord for deliverance and restoration.\u00a0 But, there is good news!\u00a0 Even though Peter\u2019s distress was because of his lack of faith at that moment, Jesus rescued him:\u00a0 \u201cImmediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him . . .\u201d (Matthew 14:31a, NAS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

I like the way The Message puts this verse:\u00a0 \u201cJesus didn\u2019t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

Read that again\u2014Jesus didn\u2019t HESITATE.\u00a0 Peter didn\u2019t have to beg his Savior to help him.\u00a0 Jesus didn\u2019t insist that Peter first built up that shaky faith before He reached out and saved him from drowning.\u00a0 No, He rescued the frightened disciple right then and before<\/strong> the waves could completely overtake him.\u00a0 However, Jesus did want Peter and the others to learn from what happened:\u00a0 \u201cand <\/em>said to him,<\/em> \u2018<\/em>You of little faith, why did you doubt?\u2019 <\/em>When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.<\/em> <\/em>And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, \u2018<\/em>You are certainly<\/em> <\/em>God\u2019s Son!\u2019<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 (Matthew 14:31b-33, NAS)<\/em> Hopefully, the next time one of them met a challenge, they were able to keep their eyes on Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

So, take heart.\u00a0 God is with you.\u00a0 He will not let you sink, and He will bring you through whatever you are facing right now.\u00a0 Call on Him.\u00a0 Let Him be your Savior.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a92013 Tammy Maseberg All Rights Reserved<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeter said to Him, \u2018Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.\u2019 And He said, \u2018Come!\u2019 And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, \u2018Lord, save me!\u2019\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-word-from-tammy-maseberg","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}