Are You Drowning?

Hey everyone!

Have you ever had one of those times while in the Word that God speaks so clearly to you about something? Well, I was reading from Matthew 14:22-36, the passage we're studying from as we go through Matthew in our church, and God showed me some really neat truths that I've not seen before! I wanted to just share a few of them to encourage you in your spiritual journey. There are a lot of neat things in the story, that most of you are already aware of...but let me share a few new truths that came to light this morning.....

1) As Peter climbed out of the boat to go to Jesus, he, being a fisherman, most likely was planning to swim to Jesus, however, he found himself "walking on the water!" That must have been a pretty cool experience; here he was doing something supernatural for God, out of his love for Jesus.

2) As Peter was doing the supernatural, reality set in when he "saw the waves...."

3) Peter, "beginning to sink..." Think about it.....as he was "beginning to sink" he, "called out to the Lord." NOT while he was drowning, not while he was overwhelmed, but AS HE BEGAN TO GO UNDER HE CALLED OUT TO THE LORD!!

That's the new idea I had! As a missionary, I "got of the boat" to do the supernatural for God....I obeyed out of my love for Him, I began to walk to Jesus and was expecting to see great things happening on the field...then, REALITY CAME! People began to disappoint; I was deceived, I was lied to by many friends and acquaintances, things were stolen from me, people just saw me as a "means to an end....." That's when I found myself, "beginning to sink" into skepticism and cynicism. No one warned me about the "waves" and the "winds." No one told me about the financial disappoints.....the struggles with malaria (even as I write this, my wife is battling fever, body aches and nausea caused by malaria....)
I just thought everything would be GREAT because I got out of the boat! I obeyed!

But here's the key....Peter called out to the Lord, "AS he was beginning to sink...." You see, for me, as well as for many of my missionary friends, here's our problem....we think we can handle it! We think, "It's not so bad, I can FIX this, I can maneuver my way through this one...." Instead of calling out to the Lord to save us, we continue to go under...we continue to sink into depression and cynicism, thinking we don't need to call out to the Lord, thinking we can take care of it...." The unfortunate thing is, MANY OF US are drowning but we're too proud to call on the name of the Lord! We are soo overwhelmed with LIFE on the field and now we find ourselves in the place where we CAN'T fix it! We're "drowning" in our cynicism.....we're overwhelmed with the "waves" and the "winds" of missionary life.....We feel "stuck," like there's no way out......

Here's good news! It's not too late to "Call on the name of the Lord" He'll meet you right where you are....He'll reach out His hand and immediately save you!! He'll rescue you from the things that are overwhelming you today....I know because He's done it for me!! Here's another cool thing that happened.....AFTER they got back into the boat..."They worshiped HIM...." He longs for you to worship Him again, He misses the fellowship you once had with Him.....Call out to Him...He's waiting...He'll rescue you....it's not too late!!

Terry