In Matthew chapter 14, we find the story of the Apostle Peter and his encounter with true trust in God. Peter was in a boat with the other disciples out on the stormy sea. They saw Jesus walking on the water towards the boat. Peter called out saying; “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus replied; “Come”. And so Peter got out of the boat and began to walk across the water toward Jesus.
However, if you read the story, you’ll see that the sea was rough and stormy that night and Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. He called out for help, and Jesus caught him by the hand and pulled him safely out of the stormy water. Jesus’ response to Peter’s reaction to the stormy waves was, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”.
Peter was absolutely fine walking on that stormy water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. It wouldn’t have mattered if a category 5 hurricane had come along – as long as he kept his eye on the Master and Creator he would have been absolutely fine. His problem was, he took his eyes off of Him – He didn’t absolutely trust.
The same is true with so many people in today’s world who claim to be Christians. You ask them if they are a Christian, and they reply; “Oh yes – I trust in God.” But let some difficulty or trouble come in their lives and you’ll find out how much they DON’T trust in God.
I constantly talk to people at the office, out in society, and even at church who are so stressed out about life’s problems and difficulties. You ask them how they are getting along and they say something like; “Oh…I’m making it. But just barely.”
It’s kind of ironic how we can claim to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and depend on Him for our lives for all of eternity in Heaven, but we can’t trust Him to help us through the financial difficulty, the overload at the office, or the family squabble that is bothering us or getting the best of us.
The Bible says that if we really trust Him, we won’t worry about this life or the things of this life.
Of course, we must trust Him completely and surrender to Him our lives to have the peace and joy that He promises to give to those who trust and obey. God when He said in His Word; “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?…But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:32, 34)
If you personally know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you serve the EXACT same God who told Peter to come to Him on the stormy sea. To get all stressed out and worried about the “problems” we face on a daily basis is to simply say “God can’t handle this for me – I need to do it on my own.” We’re just like Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus when we do that, and we begin to sink. We get stressed, we get discouraged, we get disappointed – and we feel we can’t handle all the pressure and toils of life. And you know what – that is exactly true – we CAN’T handle it all. However, if we absolutely trust God and His Word – We DON’T HAVE TO!!!
Philippians 4:19 tells us; “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” So, the choice is simply up to us – do we trust Him and have no need to worry about anything? Or do we go on with our life of stress and worry and trouble?
If you do not have a genuine personal relationship with Jesus Christ – then you do have much to worry about. However – you don’t have to continue life like that. He calls to everyone; “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
Some people may argue; “Yeah, but I know all kinds of people who claim to be Christians, and they stress and worry just like everyone else.” The answer to that is quite simple – they are just like Peter. They don’t completely trust – and they take their eyes off of Jesus.
The Christian life isn’t just some “religion” that we practice when we feel like it. To experience the Christian life the way it was meant to be experienced, it MUST become a way of life to us. Only when we absolutely trust Almighty God and have that personal daily relationship with Him can we fully know what it is like to truly know God.
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.
Absolutely Trust Him!