Tell me that you are a weightlifter but do not lift weights. How is that possible? Tell me that you are a scholar but have never been to a college or read a textbook. How is that possible? Tell me about all the beautiful sites that are throughout America, but you’ve never been to one of them. How is that possible? Tell me that you want to operate on my appendix, but you have never graduated from medical school. How is that possible?
Tell me that you trust God but have never been in a position that you needed to reach out to him. How is that possible?
One day the disciples were in a boat. Then Jesus came walking toward them on the water. At first, they were frightened. When they realize that it was Jesus coming to them and not a ghost, Peter called out to Jesus asking for him to be able to walk on the water also. He stepped out of the boat onto the water and walked toward Jesus. At that point, Peter trusted Jesus. However, he took his eyes off of Jesus and started looking at the wind and rain. That is when he began to sink in the water. He called out to Jesus who lifted them up.
There were two times that Peter had to trust Jesus. When he stepped out of the boat onto the water, he trusted Jesus. When he called out to Jesus to save him, he trusted Jesus.
We might face times in which it seems easier to trust Jesus. However, when it feels like we are sinking in life’s problems, Jesus is there waiting for us to trust him.
The only way for us to truly say that we trust God, is when we have been through those experiences that require us to rely on him. It is easy to say that we trust God when there is no storm around and things seem to be going well. That is a time of trust. To truly experience the trustworthiness of God, we must accept that it is necessary to be in the storm. By crying out, by reaching toward him, and he comes through for us, then we can say we really do trust God. Until that storm happens in our lives, it is all talk, it is theory, it is wishful thinking.
Good is not good for spiritual strength. We must go through times that God allows so that we can realize true trust in him. Like the athlete, like the scholar, like the student, like the traveler, like the surgeon, we must experience, we must know that out of God’s love he allows us to be in a place where trust is necessary. If you are going through a difficult time, tell yourself that it is God’s exercise plan for your spiritual growth. To trust him is to know him, to know him is to rely on him, to rely on him is to reach out to him. The only way to reach out to him is to be sinking in the water. Afterwards, you will have a newly found relationship with the Almighty.
Christian Writer 