August 2023 RS Newsletter
Trevor just finished swimming lessons for the summer. Trevor is a deep thinker. On the drive home he posed an interesting question. “Instead of sinking, why didn’t the guy (Peter) just tread water or hold onto the boat?” It made perfect sense to him that Peter had options!
Matthew, chapter 14:28-31 says: Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
When we read this story this year, I realized that I no longer thought of Jesus’ response to Peter as a comment of disappointment in Peter, but rather of belief that Peter definitely could have done it. I suspect that Jesus was actually very proud of Peter and the faith that he had developed this far in his journey.
So when we begin to sink, we have options. We can grab for the boat. We can turn to our friends, self-help books, even the internet. We can rally people who love us to give us good support or advice. Many times, Heavenly Father answers our prayers through other people, so this can be a valid option.
We can tread water. We can try to manage on our own. We can wait out the challenge.
Or… when we are sinking, we can look to Jesus. We literally call Him the Savior. This is what He does– He saves us. No matter if we caused the problem ourselves. No matter if we keep making the same horrible mistake. No matter if we are (or feel we are) lacking in faith. No matter if we have turned away from Him in the past.
“Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him…”
If we look to Jesus, we will have His help. It may not come as immediately as it did for Peter. His help may come in flickers or after we have had loads of patience. It may be that we don’t even notice His help until later. But looking to Him helps us. We will remember that He loves us and He will not leave us comfortless. He is the sure foundation (see Helaman 5:12). We will have greater understanding that during difficult times, it is part of God’s plan that we learn and grow. Sometimes, the purpose is to learn greater empathy or to show Heavenly Father that we choose to have faith in Him.
As we hold onto Jesus’ love for us, we will have greater strength to endure. Often, when things are hard, we find ourselves in more frequent prayer and reliance on the Savior. He will be a greater part of our lives. He will grant us His enabling power if we turn to Him.
I am facing some recurring health challenges lately. I am choosing faith. I am trying to rely on His help and power in my life. I am realizing that I don’t want to go through this myself. I want to reach out for His hand so He will catch ME. I have hope that He will keep His promises. I hold onto my belief that my challenges have purpose and that my Heavenly Father loves me. Let us each look to the One who saves as we each navigate our individual storms. He is in the water with us and “His arm is outstretched still”.
Comments
Post a Comment