Subject: [Spiritual Digest] DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE (Part 2)





Dearly Beloved,
DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE (Part 2)
"But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!'" (Matthew 14:30 NIV).
In the first part of this message, we saw how Simon Peter was ready to do the impossible by doing three things: he recognized the Lordship of Jesus; he took the initiative of asking to walk on water; and he was ready to leave his comfort zone (that is, the comfort of the boat). He also did other things that are worthy of note for anyone who also wants to do the impossible.
The fourth thing that Peter did was that he moved toward Jesus (verse 29b). When he got down from the boat and started walking on the water, he did not move towards any other direction except the direction of Jesus. He knew that he was walking on water because of Jesus because without Jesus he could do nothing (see John 15:5b). He was not full of himself. Anyone who will do the impossible must be ready to be God-conscious and not self-centred.
The fifth thing is that anyone that will do the impossible must be ready for trials of faith (verse 30). One has to take note of something here that the writers of the Gospels were silent of: what did the other disciples say or do when Peter was getting down of the boat and started walking on the water? Did they discourage or encourage him? If they did not say or do anything as the Bible portrays it, what was the effect of their indifference to Peter? Anyway, Peter was walking on the water, but he considered the prevailing circumstance (the wind) and he started to sink. The action or inaction of the other disciples and the turbulent wind were trials of faith for him. Unfortunately, he lost focus of Jesus that he was moving toward. This made him to start to sink. A matter of fact is that in this world, anyone that will do the impossible will face many trials of faith. Such trials that may be in form of anything either good or bad are inevitable (see John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Timothy 3:12). How do you react to them? Was it possible that Peter doubted as he was walking on the water? James said, "But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. A person like that, unable to make up his mind and undecided in all he does, must not think that he will receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:6-7 TEV).
Peter did the right thing: he called on the Lord (verse 30b). He did not rely on any other thing. As a professional fisherman, he could rely on his professional experience and try to swim either back to the safety of the boat or to Jesus. He might have remembered one of the many promises of God. One of such promises is, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me" (Psalm 50:15 NIV. See also Psalm 91:15; Jeremiah 33:3; Matthew 7:7; James 5:13).
Are you ready to do the impossible of walking on the trouble water of your life? Then be ready to do these highlighted things. Wait for the concluding part next week