I cringed and held my breath. My fingers were clasped tightly around the steering wheel as I tapped on the car breaks just slightly. It was my first time driving over a mountain and let’s just say I wasn’t too thrilled. Allow me to fill you in on one of my worst fears: heights. Yep, I’m one of those people. I’m terrified of heights. Like, putting me on a roller coaster would probably be the end of our friendship kind of heights-terrified. And unfortunately for me, with every movement forward up this mountain, I could glance over and see just how far we were going up. I gripped the steering wheel tighter and fixed my eyes firmly on the road ahead of me. I did not look away from that road. I didn’t care how pretty everyone thought the view was. There was no way I was glancing at my fears. I was simply going to keep my eyes on the road in front of me and keep moving forward. I knew that if I glanced over and saw how high I was ascending, my fear would keep me from being able to go up any further. When we got to the top of the mountain and started to descend down the other side, I finally let out the breath of air I had been holding. I had made it! Thinking about this, a guy from the Bible came to my mind. Someone who had experienced something a little bit similar. Peter was one of the disciples chosen by Jesus to follow Him, be His close friend, and learn from Him. And in Matthew chapter 14, Peter is taking a boat ride with the other disciples. But the winds are harsh and they were tossing the boat around. Then there was Jesus. In the middle of the waves. In the midst of the wind and chaos. There He is walking on the water. Peter’s first reaction? “And Peter answered Him and said, ‘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.” (Matthew 14:28-29 NKJV) That took some courage. I’m not quite sure I would’ve had the audacity to try walking on some waves in the middle of a storm. But I relate a little bit more to Peter in verse 30: “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” What happened? He was doing so fine walking on that water towards Jesus up until now. Yet he had taken his gaze off Jesus and put it on his fear. He focused on the waves. Oh, Peter, I know how you feel. Sometimes I let my fears take my eyes off Jesus. Sometimes I let my fear of the future keep me from remembering that Jesus has a good plan for my life, and I try to work things out on my own. Sometimes my fear of what other people think of me keeps me from remembering that following Jesus is contrary to the world. I let my eyes drift to the fears around me and I take my gaze away from the only One who can calm my fears. And I sink. When I think back to the mountain drive that I wasn’t all too excited about, I remember my decision to keep my focus on the road ahead of me, instead of the fear around me. I think that was Jesus whispering to my soul, “No matter what your fear is, fix your eyes on Me.” It is only when our eyes are on Him that we have the courage to walk on those waves and the strength to not sink. Yes, Jesus, I will fix my eyes on You. He is greater than any fear or wave that comes our way. What is a fear that you are facing today? Are you fixing your eyes on Jesus or on your fear?
Bella Morganthal
7/4/2018 05:54:34 pm
Love that verse, Grace <3
Brianna
6/14/2018 11:47:49 am
Thank you so much for this Bella. I'm afraid I have been fixing my eyes on my fears way too much lately. This really challenged and encouraged me.
Bella Morganthal
7/4/2018 05:54:56 pm
*hugs* praying for you, dear <3
Bella Morganthal
7/4/2018 05:55:18 pm
Yes to that :) 6/19/2018 08:26:49 pm
Thank you for the beautiful, encouragement, Bella! I loved this, it's so true and helps remind me where my focus should be. <3
Bella Morganthal
7/4/2018 05:56:31 pm
Thank you, sis! <3 Comments are closed.
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