Matthew 14:29(NLT)
“And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.”
When I was much younger, I thought I had a nice singing voice. I imagined myself going to an awards ceremony, walking up on stage and winning a Grammy or accepting an award for best new artist. But of course, this was all in my fantasy-like thinking. Truth be told, I was too afraid to even sing in my church choir. I was asked to join the Junior Choir when I was twelve years old, but I declined. Underneath my always smiling face was a fear of not being good enough or just plain ol’ being afraid of rejection.
As my milestone birthday loomed right around the corner, I started thinking about the many opportunities I’d missed because of my fear of failure. I remember praying to God to show me what He had in store for my life. I couldn’t imagine going another year with fear steering the ship, because it had severely impacted my relationships. We all attract people into our lives from a very deep place, and I thought about the type of men I had attracted over the years because of the fear I had deep inside. Some of my failed relationships could’ve been prevented if I had started out on a more secure and solid foundation. I realized how much of my life’s decisions and choices had been made from being too afraid of something or someone. This is not at all the kind of behavior and mindset God wants for His children. He wants us to be saturated with a mindset and attitude of faith in Him through Jesus Christ.
Fear is false evidence; it is not the truth. 2Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Because of him, we have the righteousness of God, so we have nothing to fear. Through Christ, we have been released from the spirit of bondage, and that includes loneliness, heartache, and disappointment. We’ve got to stop clinging to the fears of yesterday, when we didn’t have the Word of God in our hearts the way that we do today. Heavenly Father has sanctified us through His Word, our faith has been tried and tested by the fire, so why are we still clinging to what’s happened in the past?
If we allow ourselves to be continually possessed by our pasts, to the things that have disappointed or devastated us years ago, we run the risk of not hearing the voice of God speaking to us in the present. All of us have insecurities and fears, but we shouldn’t let them blind our eyes and keep our ears focused on what transpired in a different time. We were a different person than we are today, and we can’t go on punishing ourselves and not giving God the glory and thankfulness He deserves for transforming us through His Word. We’re stronger, better, and wiser, and we should own this in a very real way.
After praying for God to heal me of my insecurities and fear, I opened up my bible and came across Matthew 14:29, and it reminded me of how our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ encouraged the Apostle Peter. He encouraged Peter to leave his fear behind, step out on faith, and walk on water. There was an extremely distinguishing thing happening in that one moment. What was it? It was pure unadulterated faith. In less time than a blink of an eye, Peter didn’t think, he simply obeyed. Jesus Christ said, “Come”, and Peter heard the Word of the Lord and obeyed it. This is the key to all our success, obedience to God through Jesus Christ.
The moment that Peter let his mind intervene, fear crept in and he began to sink. Some of us are so afraid to let go and let God handle all the issues of our lives, and that’s why we become impatient and antsy. Then we take matters into our own hands, and we end up making big mistakes. Our Heavenly Father is not limited in any way. He knows everything and has all power in His hands. It doesn’t matter how old we are or what year it is, when we trust in Him, that’s when we will see a shift in our circumstances. 1Peter 5:6(NLT) tells us, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” When we release the fear and trust God, we don’t have to fantasize about honor, rewards, and validation. Promotion and elevation belong to God, and at His perfect timing, He will lift us up and give us success beyond our expectations.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Key to Our Success” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.