Keeping our eyes on Jesus

In Matthew 14:24-31, the story tells us how the disciples were on the water and a storm was raging. As they looked out they saw what seemed to be to them a ghost. Jesus told them not to fear because it was him. Peter then said to Jesus if it was indeed you (Jesus) then ask him (Peter) to come to him on the water. Jesus told Peter COME. So Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water. When Peter noticed the waves crashing around him, he became frightened and began to sink. Jesus told Peter that he had little faith and then reached down and rescued him.

There is a very large importance for us in these scriptures on why we should keep our eyes on Jesus.  The most important of lessons to learn is that if we will keep our eyes focused on Jesus we can walk on water. If you noticed in the scripture, as Peter got out of the boat he began to walk on the water. It was not until he noticed his surroundings that he began to sink. In other words he took his eyes off of Jesus and put them on his surroundings.

The importance to us is that when we take our eyes off of Jesus we too begin to sink. There are people today who know God and yet they are struggling with the things of this life. Why? Let me attempt to answer with what I understand of the scriptures and give you my interpretation.

If you notice in your life when you are living each and every moment for Jesus things seem to be going along great. Then as our busyness begins to creep into our time with Jesus there is a change in our happiness and we feel like we are sinking. God promised that He would never leave us or forsake us, but He did not promise that we would not have the trials of life and that He would actually allow some things in our life to teach us about Him and His importance to us. It is when we get so wrapped up in our everyday life that God intervenes and allows some things to come our way such as that sinking feeling. The example of Peter is exactly what our life becomes. We get out of the boat and make that decision to follow Jesus with everything that is within us and then, we notice something in the world around us and before we know it we begin to go down.

I know people today who have made a decision (for whatever reason) to take their eyes totally off of Jesus and place them totally in the world. They have chosen to follow other idols (boats, cars, travel etc.) and have totally taken their eyes off of Jesus. They are sinking and they have no idea why. Peter all over again took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. There are those whose lives are being seriously affected because they have turned from Jesus. They have health issues or they are struggling with their finances and for whatever reasons don’t seem to understand the sinking concept. If you take your eyes off of Jesus, you will sink but if you keep your eyes focused on Him you will be able to walk on water.

I am not saying that is the case in every situation, but it definitely is a determining factor in the situation. God is not punishing them but allowing things to happen so that their eyes may be opened or that they might turn back and get their focus where it belongs and that is on Jesus. I wish I could say that I keep my eyes on Jesus 24/7, but then I would sin and tell a lie. I struggle with this principle exactly the same way as Peter. I am going along fantastic and everything is going my way and then boom, I see the storm around me and down I go. If there was a way I could do this don’t you know that I would? The awesome thing about it is that Jesus reaches out and lifts us up and rescues us. He is not going to let us drown but He will definitely get our attention. We will swallow just a little bit of water, but when we come to our senses we will refocus our attention.

The bible says that if you have the faith of a mustard seed Matthew 17:20, we can speak to our mountain and tell it to move from here to there and it must move. Nothing will be impossible for us. It is the mustard seed faith that we need to grasp ahold of. That faith that if we keep our focus on Jesus there is nothing we can’t do. That faith if we keep our eyes glued on Him we will be able to face any circumstance in our lives with the assurance that Jesus in there and He has everything in His control, something I like to call Walk on Water faith.

We will walk on water for a short distance then we will sink down and have to have Jesus rescue us, but His love for us is so far greater than we could ever understand that He will be there and lift us up so we can walk on water again and again. Don’t give up because you could not keep your focus on Jesus. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and return your focus and then things will become brighter and you will once again be walking on the water.

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