"A Confident Faith that Doubted"

 

“A Confident Faith that Doubted”

 

“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.”  “Come!” He said.  And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid.  And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”       Matthew 14:28-31

 

Do you, sometimes, feel like Peter, when there are times that call for COURAGEOUS FAITH, and you START out with CONFIDENCE that JESUS will help you accomplish, whatever you MUST do?  Peter’s FAITH was pretty CONFIDENT and COURAGEOUS, at first, when he said: “Lord, if it is YOU, command me to COME to YOU on the water.”  Now, a little background of this scenario, is: after the feeding of the FIVE THOUSAND people, Jesus sent his disciples away in a boat, and He went up into the hills ALONE to PRAY.  And His Disciples out on the sea, sometime between 3 and 6 in the morning, encountered a STORM.  Jesus when He was through praying went to join them.  He began WALKING on TOP of the WATER.  And the Disciples were about 3 miles out, in a pretty intense storm, when they noticed a FIGURE coming towards them, without a boat, WALKING on TOP of the WATER, they were SCARED OUT of their SANDALS, because they thought it was a GHOST, and they cried out in fear.  Immediately JESUS spoke to them.  “Have COURAGE! It is I.  DON’T BE AFRAID.” 

 

 But Peter, who was known for his IMPETUOUS NATURE, with CONFIDENCE that if this was TRULY JESUS, then He could do the MIRACLE of allowing PETER to WALK on the WATER, just like Him.  So, Peter COURAGEOUSLY asked Jesus to command him to COME to Him on the WATER.  Jesus said, “COME!” And Peter climbed out of the boat and started WALKING on the WATER, coming towards Jesus.  Then Peter, made the BIG MISTAKE, of taking his eyes OFF of JESUS, and putting them on his surroundings, NOTICING the STRENGTH of the WIND, Peter became AFRAID, his CONFIDENT, COURAGEOUS FAITH turned into DOUBT.  Peter DOUBTED the ability of the ONE who is the MASTER of the SEA, and is in CONTROL of ALL SITUATIONS.  So, Peter began to SINK, and he CRIED OUT, “LORD, SAVE ME!”  IMMEDIATELY Jesus reached out His Hand, caught hold of him, and said to him; “You of LITTLE FAITH, why did you DOUBT?”

 

So, do you DOUBT the ABILITY of GOD or His Son, when you are facing difficult times?  Is your FAITH CONFIDENT or are you like PETER and DOUBT the POWER of the ALMIGHTY GOD and His Son, JESUS to DELIVER you from your DIFFICULT situations?  If you are a TRUE BELIEVER, you can be ASSURED that GOD’S Hand is on you, and He WILL see you through to the end.  But if

 you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God then more than likely, your faith is in the WORLDLY THINGS or WORLDLY PEOPLE, and you are destined for an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE, after you are there.  In order to HAVE a CONFIDENT FAITH without DOUBTS, and to be SAVED from an ETERNITY in HELL, You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your sinful life-style, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  CONFESS your sins to Him, and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  BELIEVE with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before GOD.  You MUST ACCEPT His Gift of SALVATION, and have a CONFIDENT FAITH that doesn’t DOUBT.  And receive His promise of an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!