FEARLESS FAST DEVOTIONAL - DAY 6

RUGGED FAITH

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Matt 14:30 (NKJV).

Today we conclude on the story of Peter walking on water by faith. At some point, Peter shifted his focus and started to look at the waves. Once he lost his focus, he lost his confidence then he lost his faith. The Bible says, he was afraid, doubted God and began to sink. Notice that the doubt crept in before the fear took hold of him. That was when his faith stopped working. Fortunately, Peter had enough sense to call out to Jesus, who stopped him from drowning.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU TODAY?

Don’t Lose Your Focus

Peter actually walked on water before he lost his focus. He was afraid when he looked away from Jesus and focused on the winds and the waves. We are not called to focus on negative circumstances. Your focus is critical to your faith. Remember Abraham waited for 25 years for his ‘son of promise’, Isaac to be born. The reason he was able to do it was because he did not ‘waver on the promise of God’ (Romans 4:20). Also, because he did not ‘consider his own body’ (Romans 4:19). In other words, Abraham remained focused on what God said. The same way Peter started out by considering the word that was spoken to him, but he ended up considering the waves more than the word of God. When he considered the word, he was able to walk on water, but when he lost focus and began considering the waves, he began to sink.

Resist Your Doubts

The moment Jesus got Peter into the boat, He asked him “why did you doubt?” When we doubt God, we question Him. Doubt opens the door to fear. Peter had received a word from God. He stepped out in faith, but the doubts began when he saw the winds and the waves. If the enemy can use your circumstances to get you to doubt God, he has a better chance of pushing you into fear. If the enemy can get you to doubt that God will meet your needs, that He is not interested in your future, that He is not able to protect your children, or help you in your marriage, then the enemy is well on his way to get you to sink in the waters.

Fight Fear with Faith.

Peter heard a word from God and as long as he expressed his confidence in that word, he operated in faith. Peter may have also heard a word from the enemy that told him it was not possible to walk on water, and that he was going to fail. The man who once expressed confidence in the word he heard from God, now began to express confidence in the word he was hearing from the enemy. He quickly moved from faith to fear. Faith is confidence in God’s word. Fear is confidence in the enemy’s word. God is constantly speaking and so is our enemy. The enemy uses the winds and waves to speak to us. Since there will always be winds, waves and storms of life, whose report will you believe? Whatever word you believe and express confidence in, will be the word that brings results in your life.

CONCLUSION

Jesus scolded Peter for not having faith. But recall that Peter did what only Jesus had ever done. He actually walked on water. Who had walked on water before? Peter actually tapped into the supernatural power of God. You would have thought that Jesus would commend Peter on that and say, ‘Peter, well done. You walked on water for a while’. But Jesus was not impressed with the fact that Peter operated in faith, because He expects us all to live by faith. Jesus was saying that He would have loved Peter to have walked in faith fully and consistently. All Peter had was a short burst of faith. God is not looking for us to operate in these short bursts of seasonal faith. He wants it as a way of life, walking in consistent rugged faith every day.

SONG

Too Faithful