God Will Rescue You
Grace is Enough (Day 2) // Prayer365
“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “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. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:26-33 NIV
One day a man was in India. He went to the river to get some water. Just a ways off, there were elephants gathered near the river. The man reached down with his bottle. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell into the water. The man immediately began to struggle as he could not swim. He fought with the waters as they began to pull him down steam. Suddenly one of the elephants on the riverbank reached with its trunk and grabbed the man. People nearby watched with awe as the the elephant slowly lifted the man from the waters and gracefully placed him down on the ground.
As we study The Rhythms of Grace, our focus for this week is “Grace is enough.” Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It’s quite baffling to many that God, the creator of the cosmos, all powerful and mighty would rather show grace than opting to destroy such a wicked creation. Some say that grace is a sign of weakness but I believe it’s quite the contrary. Grace is not a sign of weakness, but it is a sign of great strength.
In our text we find the disciples on their boat out in the sea. They’re being tossed around by the wind and the waves. Then they see Jesus walking towards them on the water, however there could not recognize him. But when Jesus assured them it was He, only one was willing to risk the comfort of the boat to embrace call of Christ and that was Peter.
For many of us, we are quite like Peter. We see where we are and we see where Jesus is. Although where I am may feel comfortable because it’s what I know, I’d rather take a chance at leaving what I know to pursue that which I need. But the thing that separates me from Him is what’s always been there. For Peter it’s the water, wind and waves. For us it’s life, changes and challenges. The boat represents our self created safety, it’s the systems we’ve built to protect us from life, its changes and challenges. For some it’s emotional walls we’ve built, the anger we show, our economic or social status, our unwillingness to be hurt again. Although it seems safer in the boat, where our savior is, there’s no place safer.
So we answer the call to come out of comfort into our destiny and we step out onto the water. When we step out onto the water and begin to move towards Jesus, the same thing that happened to Peter quite often happens to us. We may give our lives to Christ out of acknowledgement of a need for Him. But then all the things that were always present - life, its changes and challenges - cause us to become discouraged and sink into the currents of life. But what I love about Peter is that he didn't allow himself to continue to sink, instead he reached out and called to his savior, saying "Lord, save me!"
Yesterday, I wanted you to know that God can handle it. Today, I want you to know that He will rescue you. Life can be difficult with its perpetual changes and challenges we face. But in the midst of all of this, in our journey to know Jesus for ourselves, there may be times that you might sink. But understand that there's a Savior ready to save you upon the cry of your heart. Sometimes we can feel so defeated that we'd rather sink. So overwhelmed that we'd rather drown than to speak up and say, "Lord, I need help." Sometimes regret speaks up and says, "It's my fault I'm here! I should've stayed where I was comfortable." That's not the way to live. That's what we define as 'just getting by' and not thryving.
Remember the man that fell into the water and was taken by the current of the river? The powerful and mighty elephant was strong enough to reach down and rescue that man. God is able to recover you from wherever you may be. You may be caught in the current of life's challenges and its changes, but understand that God is strong enough! His grace is great enough to reach down and rescue you. His grace is enough.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
One day a man was in India. He went to the river to get some water. Just a ways off, there were elephants gathered near the river. The man reached down with his bottle. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell into the water. The man immediately began to struggle as he could not swim. He fought with the waters as they began to pull him down steam. Suddenly one of the elephants on the riverbank reached with its trunk and grabbed the man. People nearby watched with awe as the the elephant slowly lifted the man from the waters and gracefully placed him down on the ground.
As we study The Rhythms of Grace, our focus for this week is “Grace is enough.” Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It’s quite baffling to many that God, the creator of the cosmos, all powerful and mighty would rather show grace than opting to destroy such a wicked creation. Some say that grace is a sign of weakness but I believe it’s quite the contrary. Grace is not a sign of weakness, but it is a sign of great strength.
In our text we find the disciples on their boat out in the sea. They’re being tossed around by the wind and the waves. Then they see Jesus walking towards them on the water, however there could not recognize him. But when Jesus assured them it was He, only one was willing to risk the comfort of the boat to embrace call of Christ and that was Peter.
For many of us, we are quite like Peter. We see where we are and we see where Jesus is. Although where I am may feel comfortable because it’s what I know, I’d rather take a chance at leaving what I know to pursue that which I need. But the thing that separates me from Him is what’s always been there. For Peter it’s the water, wind and waves. For us it’s life, changes and challenges. The boat represents our self created safety, it’s the systems we’ve built to protect us from life, its changes and challenges. For some it’s emotional walls we’ve built, the anger we show, our economic or social status, our unwillingness to be hurt again. Although it seems safer in the boat, where our savior is, there’s no place safer.
So we answer the call to come out of comfort into our destiny and we step out onto the water. When we step out onto the water and begin to move towards Jesus, the same thing that happened to Peter quite often happens to us. We may give our lives to Christ out of acknowledgement of a need for Him. But then all the things that were always present - life, its changes and challenges - cause us to become discouraged and sink into the currents of life. But what I love about Peter is that he didn't allow himself to continue to sink, instead he reached out and called to his savior, saying "Lord, save me!"
Yesterday, I wanted you to know that God can handle it. Today, I want you to know that He will rescue you. Life can be difficult with its perpetual changes and challenges we face. But in the midst of all of this, in our journey to know Jesus for ourselves, there may be times that you might sink. But understand that there's a Savior ready to save you upon the cry of your heart. Sometimes we can feel so defeated that we'd rather sink. So overwhelmed that we'd rather drown than to speak up and say, "Lord, I need help." Sometimes regret speaks up and says, "It's my fault I'm here! I should've stayed where I was comfortable." That's not the way to live. That's what we define as 'just getting by' and not thryving.
Remember the man that fell into the water and was taken by the current of the river? The powerful and mighty elephant was strong enough to reach down and rescue that man. God is able to recover you from wherever you may be. You may be caught in the current of life's challenges and its changes, but understand that God is strong enough! His grace is great enough to reach down and rescue you. His grace is enough.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
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