Keeping the Faith

Paraphrasing:

So Jesus sent the disciples on without him, in a boat, saying he'd meet up with them shortly. The boat sailed off onto the stormy waters, having traveled halfway across by the time Jesus had worked his miracles and made his way to them. The men looked up and saw a man walking on the water, waves and all, and thought it was a ghost. Only Peter realized it was Jesus, saying "If you are the son of God, let me walk on water too." Jesus said, "Come," and Peter stepped out of the boat, believing. He walked on the water for a short time before the waves crashing around him made him distracted. He became overwhelmed by the storm and began to sink, saying "Lord, save me." And Jesus did.


This was the basis of the message at church this morning, and it was tailor-made for me. It was like this man was sitting in my living room last night, listening to the conversation I was having with a friend, taking notes to ensure he hit every bullet point when I arrived. Im glad He took me seriously when I said I'd be in the building. He came prepared.

At one point, I wondered if this move was really the right thing for me. It was so much more than what I asked for, and in a completely different direction. I mean, all I wanted was a raise - the ability to live comfortably, being compensated for the level of work I deliver - so naturally, I was taken aback when God tripled my salary. It intimidated me a little. I was also looking to get out of the type of work Im in, but I guess God made me good at it to prepare me for this opportunity. Thirdly, I had no intention of ever moving back to where I came from, but all things do eventually come full circle. I guess, in this case, it literally did. The lesson: God does big things. You can get small results yourself. When you bring the Lord into it, expect more than you bargained for, and know that the will of God will never take you where the grace of God cant protect you.

I thought about missing my friends, pulling my kids out of the great school they are in, the idea of being so far away from everything and everybody I have come to know, starting over, and to top it all off, here comes this really great guy... and Im leaving. Those things make it tough, but I believe with all my heart that this is what Im supposed to be doing, so I cant be like Peter, getting overwhelmed by the waves around him, beginning to sink into the sea. I have to keep the faith if I want to walk on water.

And so do you.

You know what else he said today? Not everything that was once good for you is still good for you, so once you are delivered from it, God is done with it and you should be too. He said imagine youre eating this good ole watermelon LOL. You eat so much of it til you get full and throw the rest out. A few days later, you get a hankering for more watermelon. You dont go in the trash and pull out the watermelon you threw away. Its not good anymore, and neither are a lot of things in life. Once you clear away from it, stay clear. Made me think a lot about all my second chance posts. All these fools coming out the woodwork over the past year, trying to rekindle things that use to be (or never was). People tend to view second chances - especially with relationships - as a blessing, but the truth is, they very rarely pan out, and you've wasted time chasing them that probably kept you from your real blessings. Dont think the devil dont know how to create a diversion LOL.

My pastor hit on a few more valid points today with me too, but the point is, keep the faith. When you make a commitment to yourself to go to church, keep it, because you never know when the message will be tailor-made for you. Just thought I'd share.