"Take Hold" Series: Week Four Follow-Up
As a child, I used to be terrified of swimming in the deep end. When I was younger my older brother had accidentally pushed me in the pool, and I was traumatized as I thought I was going to drown. As a result, I didn't learn to swim until I was around 13. I was always embarrassed at church camp and felt left out as my friends went swimming and I just had to chill out in the shallow end. It took a lot of nerve and a pretty girl offering to teach me to swim to finally overcome my fears (it's amazing what girls can convince guys to do, huh?).
We all have fears. Some are big and some are small. Some are appropriate (like avoiding shark infested waters), and some less appropriate (like avoiding your bath tub thinking a shark is in the water...). How has fear held you back in life?
Fear VS Courage
The disciples were no strangers to fear. Jesus was constantly asking them to do things outside their comfort zone, and at times even scaring them himself by demonstrating awesome power. At one point, the disciples were terrified of Jesus as he walked on water to meet them on their boat, assuming he must've been a ghost (Mt. 14:22-33). However, something truly amazing happened after they realized it was him. Peter, wanting to be near to his teacher, follows Jesus out onto the water!
At this point, it's important to note just how much courage this would require. As a fisherman, Peter would have understood all to well the fearsome and unpredictable power of the sea. Peter would have likely seen many of his friends lose their lives to the sea during deadly storms. If that wasn't enough, the ancient Jewish tradition draws strong connections between evil, death, chaos, and the sea. The waters hold large fearsome creatures, like the leviathan, and is much too large to fully comprehend, much less control. No wonder it is such a comfort to for the 1st century readers of Revelation to hear that in the new heavens and new earth "there was no longer any sea" (Rev. 21:1).
As we see in the story, Peter's courage and faith doesn't last long before he lets it get the best of him. I'm not so sure I can pick on him, though...at least he stepped out of the boat! That's much more than I can say for myself sometimes. The beautiful thing is that even as he sinks, Jesus "takes hold" of Peter to rescue him.
May we step out in courage whenever God calls to us and not be afraid. Even when the winds blow and the waters churn, Jesus will always be there to take hold of us when we lose heart. May we give him our all in return.
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