Where is Your Focus?

I am not a fan of storms.  I like rain, but not storms.  My favorite place to be when in the middle of a storm is at home in the arms of my husband.  That is where I feel safest.  That is where I feel least scared.  

The disciples found themselves in many a storm.  Some storms they had to face, they were in the presence of the Savior.  There was one where Jesus was found to be asleep on the boat.  Even the storm did not waken Him.  His disciples had to wake Him up and He calmed the storm.  But there were other times when they were without Jesus in the middle of the storm.  There is one instance I am thinking of specifically.  We find the story in the 14th chapter of Matthew.  

Peter and the other disciples just witnessed the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.  The people wanted to make Jesus king, but that is not why He came.  To diffuse the situation, Jesus sent the disciples on a boat and He left to have some time alone.  He was in a place where His eyes could constantly be on them.  While Jesus was absent, the disciples found themselves in the middle of a great storm.  The disciples thought they were going to die that night so they tried to save themselves.  They tried to empty the boat of the water.  They feared for their lives.  They just knew they were going to drown.  Sinking was a huge possibility.  

Even though the disciples were alone, they were never really alone.  Jesus had His eye on them the whole time.  He then went to them.  He could have chosen to take a boat out to them.  But He chose to walk on the water.  Maybe it was the quickest method.  I don't know.  But He chose His feet as His mode of transportation in the midst of this storm.  

When the disciples saw Him walking towards them, they were afraid.  They thought they were seeing a ghost.  They did not recognize Him to be Jesus.  I am sure they did not expect to see Jesus walking on the water.  They were filled with fear.  Jesus spoke to them, "Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid."  This is powerful.  

I have talked with my husband about this phrase many a times.  We have talked about its meaning. Either, Jesus is telling His disciples not to be afraid.  He was there now.  There was no reason for them to be afraid any more.  Do not fear, I am here with you now.  Or He was saying, do not be afraid.  I Am.  I am God.  Do not be afraid of me.  I am not a ghost.  I Am.  The disciples were afraid not just because of the storm.  They were afraid because they thought Jesus was a ghost.  They did not recognize Jesus.  I believe Jesus was saying, "do not be afraid of Me.  I am"  "Before Abraham was, I Am."  "Who should I say sent me?  I Am."  Wow!

Jesus has arrived to the boat in the middle of the storm.  The disciples have desperately tried to save themselves to no avail.  Now Jesus is there and He is reassuring them that He is I Am.  There is no reason to be afraid.  And Peter says "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water." Peter is not testing God here.  He is not saying "if it really is you".  He is seeing Him as who He really is.  He is seeing Him as Jesus, as the son of God.  Jesus asks Him to come on the water.

Now, I know if I was coming out of a boat onto water, the moment my foot touched the water, I would go straight under.   I have never tried to walk on the water because I know I am not able to walk on water.  I do not possess the ability to walk on anything but solid ground.  But Peter,  he was able to walk on water.  But was he able to do so due to his own ability?  Of course not.  Was he able to walk on water because he was cocky and wanted to show off to his friends.  Not at all.  Then how was he able to walk on the water?  It wasn't by his own power.  It was because he had his eyes fixed on Jesus.

He took his eyes off of himself.  He realized he could not save himself.  He kept his focus on the One who could save him.  He kept his eyes on His Savior.  He walked to Jesus.  

This is where our eyes should be at all times.  Our eyes should be fixed on Jesus.  He should be our focus.  It is not about walking on water.  It is not about what others think of us.  It is about where our focus is.  We cannot save ourselves.  Only God can.  This is why our eyes need to be fixed on Him.  

The moment Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, what happened?  He began to sink.  He no longer was able to walk on the water.  He thought he could do it himself.  He lost his focus.  He forgot where he was going.  He once again got scared by the storm.  He forgot who could save Him.  

I sometimes think that I can handle my problems myself.  I think that I have got them under control and I can take care of them myself.  I begin to take my eyes off of God.  I forget why my problems seemed so small.  He was the one handling them for me.  He was the one in control.  But when I try to take control back, when I forget why I was able to "breeze" through life, I begin to sink.  My problems become so big that I can't breath.  I feel like I am going to drown.  I feel like my problems are going to swallow me whole.  I took my eyes off of God for one second.  I lost my focus.  And I have to cry out to my Savior for His hand.

Peter had to cry out to Jesus.  And He did not hesitate.  He reached out His hand and pulled Peter back up out of the water.  He wasn't going to let Peter sink.  He loved Peter very much.  He was not going to let Peter's loss of focus become the reason for his loss of life.

Jesus has never left me.  He is always there.  I may push Him back.  I may try to take control.  But He is still there.  He is still ever present.  He is just waiting.  He waits for me to call on Him to take back control.  He waits for me to regain my focus.  He helps me to see that when I rely on Him, when my focus is on Him, things go smoothly.  Things are easier to handle.  With Him, all things are possible.  But without Him, life is a very choppy sea.  I feel like I am going to drown.  I am not able to handle all that comes towards me.  The storms are too big, the waves too high, and the water comes in too quickly.  

Do your storms seem to big to handle?  Does it feel like you are going to drown?  Do you feel that you cannot handle all that is coming your way?  Take a moment.  Breath.  Now change your focus.  Take your eyes off the storm.  Take your eyes off yourself.  Put your focus on God.  Give Him your problems.  Not just the big ones.  He wants the little ones, too.  He can handle them all.  He wants to help you walk on water.  You can do it, too.  See Him for who He really is.  Keep your eyes on Him.

We can survive this storm.  We can walk towards Jesus.  We just need to keep our focus on Him.  We can do that only By God's Amazing Grace.

(Thanks goes to Steven for the perspective he gave to the story of Peter walking on water.)