And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? —Matthew 14:29-31
Good Morning Friend!
Is it really unattainable?
Think about it. Many times we pursue greater places or states of being, things, people, and levels in life and stop because we become discouraged. We become discouraged and often times too easily—just because what we are ascertaining seems like it's out of our immediate reach, league, educational background, economical vantage point, etc. So we acquiesce to our insecurities and give up saying, "surely I was not meant to live in that community, I wasn't meant to drive that type of car or attend that University or to contend for that job." (This is the conversation that many of us have had with ourselves if we are honest….) "If God wanted me healed he would have done it by now. If it was meant for me to have, the Lord would have made it easier for me. I can't do it like them so it's not going to work for me"…and on and on we go, time after time, talking ourselves out of our inheritance. When all we actually have to do is stretch out our hands and possess that which is already ours.
Now, we all know that sometimes it takes a little more than literally stretching out our hands and taking what we want. Try that if you want and most of the times it will lead you to stretching out in jail. (SMILE!) But in all actuality it's as simple as that analogy. Simply put—you have to do something or go through something to get something! Stretching in this case symbolizes the act of being taken out of ones comfort zone. It symbolizes tearing and resistance, pulling and expansion, being uncomfortable but yet remaining resilient. Stretching shows you some things in you that you would have never known were there (both positive and negative) if it wasn't for the stretch. Stretching is inevitable with growth. You show me somebody who doesn't get stretched or refuses to get stretched and I will show you somebody who chooses to settle, remain stagnate and in the same old place. But you show me somebody who is stretched and goes through the stretching process without quitting or fainting, I will show you someone who is ready and able to handle the blessings of the Lord.
You see, higher levels require higher tolerance levels, greater patience, a stronger relationship with God, greater levels of trustworthiness, faithfulness, diligence and I could go on. But how will you ever develop greater and higher levels in these and the other areas in your life if you don't go through something that ultimately makes you stronger in the end? I look at my life and how there have been many times that I have missed blessings because I got discouraged because not only was what I was reaching for a "hard thing" for me at that time, but I also had to deal with people around me that didn't understand or who were not willing to stretch and reach with me. You have to be careful of who you keep company with when you are reaching for higher levels in God and in life. Ultimately, I would become more discouraged because not only was I carrying the weight of my own personal stretch and the voices of doubt that would try to creep into my head and spirit (and some times successfully) but I had to deal with the doubters around me. Often times it was too much and I would let go and have to start all over again. Fortunately, God allowed me more chances because He knew what was on the inside of me and I'm glad that I allowed myself to get back up in these situations as well. That's the great thing about going through processes, this is usually your training ground where you can mess up and start over without actually being right in the middle of your destiny and messing up. So if you have fallen in your attempt to reach for more…get back up, dust yourself off and stretch out again towards your goal with your new strength and knowledge.
In Matthew 14 we are placed in a one on one encounter with Jesus, His disciples and their faith. The disciples are out on a boat and see Jesus walking on water. They become afraid and confuse the water walking Jesus with a Ghost. Jesus calls out to the fellas and tells them to be not afraid for it was He that they saw. Peter yells out in the midst of this and says to Jesus "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Jesus tells Peter to come and Peter stepped out of the boat and just on the word of Jesus he begins to walk on the water. Peter starts out strong too…with his eyes set on his destination, which is Jesus. But just like many of us Peter began to experience some turbulence and harsh winds that distracted him from the promise. The more the winds blew and the waves crashed the more Peters faith begins to faint. At this point Peter begins to sink but Jesus stretches out his hand and saves Peter. Jesus then says to Peter "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Seeing that the disciples had just witnessed Jesus feed five thousand men (plus women and children) with five little loaves of bread and two fish, one would think that Peter's faith would still be full from what he had just encountered. But aren't we just like that at times? Here Jesus has done the impossible by feeding thousands with what was originally meant to be a lunch for one and he did it on what the bible calls "a desert place" meaning that there were no other resources available to the people within this particular place but Jesus. Don't you remember how God has blessed you, kept you, fed you, strengthen you and loved you all while you were in a barren place in your life? And look at you now, you are still here throughout all of what you've been through! Now if God blessed you and me in the midst of famine before…and you survived just from "manna" which basically means "stuff" or fragments…don't you KNOW by now that whatever you face GOD'S
When I looked at this passage of scripture verse 31 it jumped out at me the most because it says "and immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him" meaning that Peter was so close to Jesus (or the goal—which was to get to Jesus) that he could have literally stretched out his hand [Peter] and taken hold of the goal or Jesus. How many times have we been so close to the goal or to victory only to begin to faint right before reaching the promise? My friend I know that in the mist of pursuing we get tired, that's only human. But I want to encourage you and speak to your spirit that its time out for fainting! We are going to make it through this time! I don't care if I have to get over on "broken pieces"! I don't care if I have to cross the finish line cut and bruised…but I declare that I'm going to make it to my goal! It's time out for just looking at life and waiting for a hand out to make it…stretch out your own hands, your mind, your will, your tenacity, your strength, your courage, your creativity, your skills, your FAITH and possess what has already been declared YOURS!
Remember as you go throughout your week…"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:8
Much Love,
Clyde L. Webster
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