Walk by Faith

A lot has been going on this past week, particularly this weekend, and it has been really good fun! There were so many amazingly encouraging moments this week, like Smarties where I got to lead the younger group and we discussed Esther and how God makes us brave when we face things that scare us and we made shields and bravery badges to remind us about the story, or like the Big Green Game show where we hosted the Big Green members and their families for a night of assorted game show rounds, and where they got to know other parents and the Youth Leaders too, or when I was given the opportunity to lead prayer time during the Sunday service and we prayed for our Muslim neighbours and made them cards for eid with the Lord's Prayer in Arabic on the front. I think one particular moment which really stood out for me was the Think Big Green youth home group on Sunday where a handful of our young people discussed their faith and what they thought about the Bible. We were amazed by quite how strong and well developed their opinions were for eleven and twelve year olds, because we had never wanted to impose any sort of ideals or opinions of our own on them. I'm just reminded time and time again about how incredibly blessed we have been to have shared in this past year with them and so see them turning into the wonderfully unique people we see today, not scared to share their opinions or to stand up for the things that they believe in, whether that fits in with the Christian faith or not.

The story of Jesus walking on water in Matthew 14:22-33 has really stuck with me this week, particularly the point at which Jesus beckons Peter out onto the water and he falters. Verses 29-31 read

'“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

I think sometimes it's quite easy to "talk the talk" but when it comes to the crunch we struggle to "walk the walk". In this particular story we see Peter challenge Jesus  “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” (Matt 14:28) Peter wants proof that it really is Jesus, and so he asks Jesus to prove it by allowing him to walk on water and so Jesus simply responds with "Come". When Peter sees the wind and becomes afraid, he begins to sink and has to be rescued. 

How much of this resonates with you in you walk in faith? If I'm entirely honest I feel like it reflects my walk sometimes. I have been praying for God to help me to sand away at those rough edges that I have, the ones that keep me from serving Him with my all, but yet, when He does work on me, and it does challenge me in ways I never expected, I falter and I sink. I forget that with these changes and with these struggles I need to continue walking the life of faith that I had when times were easy, and trust that with Him, anything is possible to overcome. I forget all the while that I asked for this, and that He has actually responded to me, inviting me to experience something of his awesome refining power. He hasn't left me on my own, He is right there beckoning me forward and inviting me to walk on the water like Peter, and I guess that means the best is yet to come!