Big Hairy Questions!
Recently, this has come up a lot, so I guess that I should post a little ditty about the Big questions we all have in life!
To be or not to be....that is not the question I am talking about!
Do I buy a house? or rent for a few more years?
Should I pursue a relationship with a certain girl/guy?
Should I go back to school/switch majors/go to grad school?
What ministry avenues should I pursue?
You know, all the really big ones, that we all seek out God's perfect will on?
I will used Peter as an example for these questions.
Matthew 13:22-33 "Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God."
There are 2 things that we should take out of this!
1. If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat!
2. If you want to walk on water, you must have faith in God!
1. Getting out of the boat!
If we just sit around and wait for things to happen, it most likely will never happen. (Not saying that it couldn't happen) We need to make a solid decision! Whether to go or to stay. There was no mention in the story of one of the disciples who was half in and half out of the boat. They had all made the decision to stay or to go.
2. Having Faith in God!
We must trust that God will lead us to the correct decision! Sometimes though we make a decision and everything seems to fall apart, but is God still not faithful and provides for us? We must also have enough faith to believe that if we make the wrong decision that God will still be there to protect us and get us back on track!
When we put these two things together, we see that God is always there for us! Just as he was there for Peter. Peter made the decision to get out of the boat (Right decision)! Once out of the boat he chose to focus on the wind and the waves instead of Christ (Wrong decision)! But was Christ still not there for Peter? Did Christ not extend a saving hand to stop Peter from sinking? He will do the same for us with every decision we make in our lives.
The more we do this and experience His amazing protection, doesn't mean that it gets any easier! God is there to protect us, but when we are going through the tough times it is hard to see Him through all the pain and suffering. But isn't being refined by fire a painful process? We pray to become more like Christ, then when we have to go through trial and tribulations we ask for them to be taken away. Christ was persecuted, ridiculed, spat upon, rejected, and killed by His own people. Should we expect anything less when we ask to become like Him?
The point is, when faced with BIG decisions:
1. Make a choice....and stick to it!
2. Have faith enough in God that whether it was the right or wrong choice that He will get you through it and back on the path of righteousness!
In Christ,
David
To be or not to be....that is not the question I am talking about!
Do I buy a house? or rent for a few more years?
Should I pursue a relationship with a certain girl/guy?
Should I go back to school/switch majors/go to grad school?
What ministry avenues should I pursue?
You know, all the really big ones, that we all seek out God's perfect will on?
I will used Peter as an example for these questions.
Matthew 13:22-33 "Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God."
There are 2 things that we should take out of this!
1. If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat!
2. If you want to walk on water, you must have faith in God!
1. Getting out of the boat!
If we just sit around and wait for things to happen, it most likely will never happen. (Not saying that it couldn't happen) We need to make a solid decision! Whether to go or to stay. There was no mention in the story of one of the disciples who was half in and half out of the boat. They had all made the decision to stay or to go.
2. Having Faith in God!
We must trust that God will lead us to the correct decision! Sometimes though we make a decision and everything seems to fall apart, but is God still not faithful and provides for us? We must also have enough faith to believe that if we make the wrong decision that God will still be there to protect us and get us back on track!
When we put these two things together, we see that God is always there for us! Just as he was there for Peter. Peter made the decision to get out of the boat (Right decision)! Once out of the boat he chose to focus on the wind and the waves instead of Christ (Wrong decision)! But was Christ still not there for Peter? Did Christ not extend a saving hand to stop Peter from sinking? He will do the same for us with every decision we make in our lives.
The more we do this and experience His amazing protection, doesn't mean that it gets any easier! God is there to protect us, but when we are going through the tough times it is hard to see Him through all the pain and suffering. But isn't being refined by fire a painful process? We pray to become more like Christ, then when we have to go through trial and tribulations we ask for them to be taken away. Christ was persecuted, ridiculed, spat upon, rejected, and killed by His own people. Should we expect anything less when we ask to become like Him?
The point is, when faced with BIG decisions:
1. Make a choice....and stick to it!
2. Have faith enough in God that whether it was the right or wrong choice that He will get you through it and back on the path of righteousness!
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 3:35 PM
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