| E-MAIL SERVICE | Sign me up to receive the daily Word of Righteousness free via my E-mail address! ( ONLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH ) | |
| ARCHIVES | I want to check out the daily Words of Righteousness for any of the last fourteen days or from previous weeks. ( ENGLISH ONLY ) | |
| FEEDBACK | I have a question or comment about today's Word of Righteousness. ( ENGLISH AND SPANISH ONLY ) | |
| BOOK LIST | I would like to see the complete book list of the Words of Righteousness author Robert B. Thompson. (SOME SPANISH TITLES AVAILABLE ) |
The Daily Word of Righteousness
Spiritual Survival in the Coming Days, #36
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "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?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (Matthew 14:28-32—NIV)
This is the classic scriptural illustration of keeping our eyes on Jesus. We all know the story. Peter asked the Lord, "Tell me to come to you on the water."
There is an important lesson in the above sentence. Peter did not attempt to exercise presumptuous faith by jumping out of the boat and walking on the water. He looked to the Lord for directions.
Joshua did not just address the sun during the battle, he sought the Lord first.
On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." (Joshua 10:12—NIV)
"Joshua said to the Lord"?
The so-called faith message of our day emphasizes that we should speak the creative word and command the elements. This is to have faith in faith. Here is the basis for the False Prophet of the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation. We are to pray always to Jesus and not to go around trying to cast out demons and get what we want "by faith." We are not to seek to use the name of Jesus in this way. This is not Christian faith but metaphysical faith, and the adamic nature remains in control.
Jesus said one word: "Come." But eternity was in that Word, as it always is in the Word of Jesus Christ.
We must never get down out of the boat until the Lord speaks.
It is interesting to speculate on how the other disciples must have felt when they saw Peter walking on the water toward Jesus. If they had possessed the fervency of Peter they all could have danced that night on the water of the Sea of Galilee—and this in the middle of a storm!
Peter's desire to experience the miraculous power of Christ is commendable. How many wonders we ourselves could experience if we spent more time in God's Presence! There are more gifts ready to be handed over the balconies of Heaven than there are people who care enough to ask for them.
But no matter how fervent we may be, or how certain we are that we can perform the miraculous, we must pray until the Lord speaks and gives us Divine faith.
Peter asked. Jesus spoke. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus, not just in any direction where whimsy might direct him but toward Jesus. Peter apparently was gazing at the face of Jesus.
And then something changed. Peter noticed the wind.
How often it is true that we step out in faith and walk toward the Lord. Then Satan bangs on his pots and pans until we take our eyes off the Lord.
Then we begin to sink.
To be continued.