The Wind & The Waves

Recently I've been going through a phase in my life where God is teaching me not to surrender to fear and worry - like truly to give it up to Him in a practical way. He's showing me I do have an active role in order to get rid of fear in my life. It has not been easy, and I haven't always succeeded, but there is grace, mercy, and freedom in the Cross.

We're told in Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
God, through Paul, wasn't simply suggesting, "Hey, I think life might be a little better if you don't worry but pray instead." When I read this, I see it more as a command. Do not be anxious about anything. By prayer and petition, present your requests to God. I think we (Christians) often complicate trying not to "worry" and act like it's a sin, and then we act so troubled thinking, "Oh, I need to work on not worrying. I'm not really there yet." The solution is clear to me: When you're worrying, pray. It doesn't matter if you feel like praying or believe it will make a difference. God is faithful to our actions of obedience when we feel faithless. I've been learning in my own experience that even when I don't feel like praying when I'm worried, when I do, God is always faithful to give me peace simply because I'm trying to obey Him and surrender my fears.

It'd be a lot easier to not worry if we didn't have things to worry about, right? If life were just simpler. Well, God being as wonderful as He is, gave us a solution for that too. In Matthew 14, Jesus is walking on water towards the disciples in the boat. Peter says to Jesus in verse 28, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water." So in response Jesus tells him to come. If you're familiar with the story, you know that Peter looked away from Jesus, got terrified, started to sink, and then Jesus reached out to grab him. In verse 30, it specifically says what distracted Peter from Jesus: "But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink." 
I'm going to present this more as a metaphor to our lives, but I believe it to be completely relevant to this passage. Because Peter looks at the wind and the waves, he failed to see the One who would bring him through it. Our eyes cannot be focused on 2 different things - unless you're really talented. But realistically, it's not possible. We cannot be looking at how I'm going to pay this bill, how I'm going to get food, how I'm going to fix this relationship, etc. We must focus on Jesus. And to do that, we have to intentionally take our eyes off of distractions, stare straight ahead at Jesus and keep walking. That is the only way to make it through the wind and the waves. When people say, "If God led you to it, He'll lead you through it," I believe that to be true, but only if we're focused on Him and not how we're going to overcome the circumstances.
Faith shall be our substance to walk on.
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
Peter wasn't walking on any tangible substance that would keep him afloat. His faith and fixation on Jesus was his substance that kept him from sinking.

I'm not saying I've mastered fixing my eyes on Jesus, but learning this lesson requires a constant battle against distraction. It must be intentional on our part to pray, and ask, when we're filled with fear, worry, or doubt. And God will be faithful.
Matthew 21:22 "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it."




For those of you interested, God has shown me all of this through a sermon I was listening to. The essence of the message wasn't about prayer in anxiousness, but it was focused on faith and asking. If you're interested in listening, the link is http://sermon.net/newdaysc/sermonid/2411550 It should be titled, "How (and when) to walk on water".