FAITH CAPSULE: Jesus’ availability for us is not to force faith on us.

Matthew 14:22-33

Meditate the word of Psalmist which states, “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy .Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,” (Psalm 64:1-2) Meditation is not memorization. Allow meditating on the word of God to be your routine and it will be your compass navigating through the journey of life. With meditation man is set to do well. Meditation worked for Moses and must have worked better for Joshua. The psalmist asked God for preservation when he prayed, “Preserve me from the fear of the enemy.” There is only one enemy for every creation of God and that enemy is the devil himself. Fear is the enemy’s weapon. In the life of a believer, when faith sinks, fear rise and takes it place. Fear does not announce itself before it invades its victims. Fear knows no discrimination.

The bible described Job as a man of integrity when God responded to Satan stating, “…that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8)Job had a high standard in the presence of God. After he had lost all that the Lord blessed him with, he confessed about fear, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25)Fear did not announce himself to Job when it invaded Job. Fear is not a respecter of title. The same fear that invaded Job invaded Peter and caused him to sink where there was a need for him to walk.

Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ’Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ’Lord, save me!’ (Matthew 14:28-30)In the above scriptural verse, it is evident that when faith was in place, Peter was able to walk on the storm and not sink. The moment Peter redirected his focus from savior to the storm, faith was out of place. Fear caused him to sink despite the fact that Jesus was there with him. Jesus’ availability for us is not to force faith on us. Engaging His presence constantly and continuously is an assured way of salvation from storm. Determination is not an assured way for salvation but the grace of God. Imagine Peter, the man with strong determination, almost got his termination when fear invaded him during the storm of life. Be encouraged; pray the prayer of the Psalmist and faith will not fail.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to keep you up and not sink in the storm of life.