Don’t Sink

Belief

Recently a friend of mine who is also a Pilot told me about a mistake he made while flying his plane. He told me that he had taken off from an airport and had been given a northerly heading to fly. He did just as instructed, but the air traffic controller advised him that he had made a big mistake. He said my friend had turned the wrong way to get to the assigned heading which caused him to fly directly through restricted airspace. Whether my friend did or did not turn the way he was told is irrelevant to the fact that it would now be a big mess for him. This incident would cause lots of meetings, investigations and a ton of stress for him.

We chatted on the phone for a little while and I told my friend all about the mistakes I have made. How I have been down that same road and I understand how big a burden it is to go through the process. I told him the only way I kept my head up was by keeping my eyes on Jesus.

Keeping my eyes on Jesus means that I do not worry about the details. I know that my heart is for God and He loves me. He knows how everything will turn out and it is always for my best interest. The good the bad and the ugly all work together for good to those that Love the Lord. I simply have to trust Him. My mistakes in life are so much more meaningful than my successes. Successes come and go and many times are forgotten. I very rarely forget my mistakes though. Mistakes are the things that have shaped me, drawn me closer in my faith to God, and caused me to change my future behavior.

During the storms of life we find out who we truly are and what we really believe in. Storm are turbulent and millions of things are moving in every direction. A person cannot focus at all by looking at all of the circumstances. In those times I have always made it out of the storm better and stronger by remaining fixed on Jesus.

Scripture

Matt 14:28-31

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”\

Application for Life

God gave us a wonderful illustration of this in the Bible. Peter was in the midst of a storm when he saw Jesus walking on the water. He called to Jesus and asked to come to Him. Jesus said “Come”. Initially Peter kept his eyes on Jesus in spite of all that was going on around him and he was able to walk above it all. However, the moment he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink. Thank God that so many times when we start to sink, Jesus is still faithful to deliver us. I pray that both my friends and I keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.