Be Still part 3
There's a cool passage in the Message Bible of the story where Peter walks on water. Its in Matthew chapter 14. And when Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and looks at the wind and the waves... and starts to sink... in the KJV it reads like this, "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" That's what we always think about. He had "little faith" and that's what caused him to sink. But look at the Message Bible translation, "Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”" I love that. Because our problem is NEVER the storm that we're in. The problem is ALWAYS the storm that's in us. We let things get into us. We let things that have no power... control us. We GIVE things power. By focusing on them. By making mountains out of molehills. And while the KJV calls it doubt, or lack of faith... sometimes its just that when we get into something, we let it get into us. We get distracted. That's what really happened to Peter. His eyes were on Jesus and he was fine. But then he started to see what was going on around him. He started to get worked up. When the disciples first saw Jesus walking on the water, they thought it was impossible. Then Peter began to walk by faith and not by sight. And the impossible BECAME possible. But then the "reality," if I can say it that way, of the situation crept back in. Isn't it funny how "bad" things always seem much more likely than "good" things? Or when we weigh the "good" against the "bad," no matter how much "good" there is... the "bad" always seems so much worse. We can do something right a thousand times. But that one time we mess it up... THAT'S what sticks with us. I don't know why that is, but it seems to be the case most of the time. The little negative things weigh us down. Crush us. Bury what's REALLY inside until we almost can't find it anymore. That's when our heart gets faint. And that's when its SO important that we understand that the FIRST thing Jesus did was reach down and grab Peter's hand. He wasn't about to let His disciple drown. He picks us up when we fall, and He can even KEEP us from falling! Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what gets into us. It matters what has always BEEN in us. Even when we didn't have the Holy Spirit--the love receptor, the Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth--we were still loved. We just didn't know it. Couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. We were willing to do anything to get it--which is why we wasted so much time and effort looking for love in all the wrong places--but we couldn't believe that we already had it. The wind was too loud. The waves were too crazy. The world was screaming its head off at us and it was (at that time) practically impossible to hear the still, small voice of God. We had to be still. Quiet our minds. Every night when Logan and I pray, we thank God for an open heart full of love, and a calm Spirit. That's how we keep "stuff" from getting into us. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that its in there. By receiving and releasing the love of God. Not letting stuff get into us, but knowing what's in us and letting it out!