The scripture was the story of when Jesus was walking on the water and Peter said, "Lord, if it is you, tell me to come." So Jesus was like, "Alright. Come." (Paraphrasing here...) And Peter stepped out of the boat and took a few steps as he looked towards Jesus (pretty important part there, don't forget this important phrase) and ended up walking on the surface of the water. All of a sudden... Peter started to look around. There were these high waves all around him, the sky was probably pitch black and flashing. (I am not for sure, because I wasn't there, but it was a storm). I am sure the water was just ROARING! (If you have been to the beach with high waves, then you too have heard how powerfully loud water can sound.) The wind was howling and suddenly Peter got stuck on all of that and lost focus. Jesus, of course, did not let Peter drown, (ALSO SUPER IMPORTANT PLEASE REMEMBER) and pulled Peter up and into the boat, when Peter cried for help. Though Jesus saved Peter, he reprimanded him for losing focus, for doubting Jesus. Then Reverend Copeland goes on to talk about how the devil tries to distract us from focusing on God. He does everything he can think of to get us to stop looking at Jesus. He talked about how Peter, a fisherman, started to focus on the natural. He knew that, as a fisherman, when the waves were that high you were going to go under. The moment he started thinking in the natural, he started to go under. The last little bit says, "Keep your eyes on the Word of God until it is more real inside you than anything else. If you do that, you will walk your way across the water just fine."
(If you want to read the whole non-paraphrased story it is Matthew 14:22-33)
So, lately, a lot of my life experiences have been as a teacher. (Which totally makes sense... since you know... I teach.) And I am not going to lie... it is really easy to feel like you are drowning. All. The. Time. You have lessons to plan for. You have different needs of different students that need to be met. You have different standards that have to be taught. You have homework to grade. You have curriculum to write. You have a Unit of Instruction to fill out. You have a dance team to coach! (Which by the way is an awesome part of my week! I love it!) You have grades to put in the grade book. You have quizlet to update every day after notes, because you know that your students' really like having this to study and review, and you want your students to succeed. You have the missing homework list to keep updated. You have parent emails. You have things to print, you have random meetings (some are not random). I mean the list seems never ending. It honestly feels that way some days. It is SO easy to feel like you are drowning.
And today's devotion fit so WONDERFULLY with my day (month? Year?!?!). Today, as my day progressed.The waves seemed to crash higher. The winds seemed to get louder. All these distractions that the devil was throwing in my day to knock me off my feet were happening. Then, all of a sudden... God just had me realize how even though the storm SEEMS scary. It isn't. Not at all.That those things that I get anxious about have absolutely NO power. Saying, "Hey, Em, over here. Look at me."
He has put people in my life that are reminders that Jesus is there; Walking me across these waters that seem so big and formidable, especially on the days I feel so small. Yet even on those days, Jesus is there. He is still walking me through the waves. And today, when at the crescendo of the day, when God was like, "By the way, I am still here and don't you forget it." The waves got smaller. The problems seemed smaller. And I took a deep breath and it was like... Even the howling of the wind stopped. There was no anxiousness, there was no worry. There was just this peace that God is holding my hand walking through the waves with me. That even my frustration was smoothed out. I felt this drive that I can't even explain in words. Best to explain it is a reminder mom would say to us every day as we left for school, "The Earth trembles because it knows you are a child of God."
So if you are frustrated with things, or going through things that are way out of your power and you are anxious about it. Look at Jesus. He is standing right there. He hasn't left you, nor forsaken you. (He even tells us that he won't in the Bible.) Take a second and get your eyes off all the big scary things in life, and look at Jesus. In the words of Veggie Tales, "God is bigger than the boogie man!"
So. Anyways. That is my preaching for the day. Don't forget. God is with you always. That He is bigger than your scariest problem. He is always fighting for you. If you have accepted Christ as your savior... You are His child and by golly He is going to fight for you. Parent's fight for their kids, and God is our heavenly Father... so He is DEFINITELY going to fight for you. No weapon formed against you will prosper... no matter what the weapon may be! Don't let the devil rob you of the peace of God. Because God's peace surpasses understanding. It goes so deep and is so wonderful. Take joy in the promises of God!
And as my mom used to tell me and my brother, "The Earth trembles because it knows you are a child of God."