Red Letters – Ghosted – April 21

RED LETTERS
April 21, 2021

Ghosted

Matthew 14:28-30, ‘”Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.” “Come,” He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save Me!”’ (NIV)

How is it that this boat full of men, and Peter, having just hours before witnessed the miraculous feast of fish and chips served to literally thousands of people, suddenly need proof that the vision walking toward them on the surface of the stormy sea is Jesus Himself?! They had experienced something that one wouldn’t believe unless having seen it with their own eyes, but they had even participated in the feeding of a great multitude of people with a little boy’s sack lunch. Yet we find them scared and bewildered that the Miracle Worker can walk to them on water. Peter even has the audacity to say, “Lord, if it’s really You, prove it by telling me to come to You on the water.” What are you most in amazement over? That Peter asked Jesus to prove Himself, or that Jesus, already faced with the disbelief, issues him a simple command “Come.”? I think it is incredible that the Way Maker took him at his word, saying, “Come”, because I think that indicates He puts belief in His children, and places the ability to be obedient, even when we walk on a supernatural surface of faith we can’t comprehend.

I don’t believe that we are any different than Peter in that we require the God of the universe to continually prove Himself faithful to us. Instead of relying on His past faithfulness and the fact that He went to the cross for our eternity, we throw out the line, bait and hook, waiting to see if He will bite. Wondering if He will tell us to “Come”, and if He does, will He give us the inspiration to be obedient? Rather, it is us that really should simply say, “You are there, Jesus, and therefore, I’ll come to You.”

Regardless, He is still, and always will be, the Promise Keeper, and the Light in the Darkness, and He will not direct us to do something He hasn’t first put in us the ability to do or be. He tells us to simply “Come”; and when we falter, He reaches out His hand and catches us, rescuing us from the depth of the storm and the dark of the night when we cry out, “Lord, save me!”

I’ve been reading RED LETTERS all my life, but never with my heart.
During the month of April, let’s JOURNEY where JESUS journeyed,
and listen with our hearts to all He came to proclaim.