I met an elderly woman today who used to be confined to a wheel chair. She now is mobile with help of a cane. Most people in the elder years degrees, they get worse and not better. Once the get into the wheelchair they rarely get out. She shared with me her story. She said she "stepped out on faith". One day she was sitting on her porch and decided she would walk to the her car in the drive way. In sharing her story she said something to me that stuck in my mind. She said "I didn't know if I could make it I just figured I would start and see how far I get." Well she made it to the car , she continues to make it." The fact is she has never returned to the chair, it remains in her garage to this day. In her words " Oh I get tired sometimes but I just stop, rest for a while and then I keep on going, just seeing how far I can get." The woman is still seeing how far she can get. Her definition of faith is starting and then seeing how far you can get. What an amazing testimony.
Let me take you the story of peter walking on water. For those of us not familiar with it, it can be found in the book of Matthew, the fourteenth chapter, verses twenty two thru thirty four. Jesus decides to walk out to the disciples walking on the water, and for those unfamiliar it wasn't winter and the water wasn't frozen. Jesus walked on liquid water. When Peter saw Jesus on the water he asked that Jesus command him to walk on the water to him. Peter believed if God told him to do it he could. Jesus commanded. Peter immediately got out on the water and began to walk.
Let me Digrees for a moment. How many of us do this. We hear the call of God, its loud clear and definitive. You know you heard from the Lord. Excited you jump out of your boat and start walking.
That is what peter did. It wasn't until he saw the wind and the waves that he got scared and began to sank. Now all of the pictures I have seen of this story show peter doing the same thing...standing still. I believe this is true. Do we really think that peter was walking and then all the sudden did a face plant in water when he saw the waves and got scared. Or do we think that he saw the wind and waves and stopped, got scared and then began to sank. The latter is true. You see peter stopped moving forward, he stopped seeing how far he could get.
This is true in so many or our lives. We hear the call of the Lord loud and definitive we get out and start walking. we see the waves around us then we stop, we see the problems and stop. We never stop with the thought of quiting or failing, but our hesitation is just long enough for us to begin to sink. Our failure comes from the ceasing of seeing how far we can get. My encouragement to you is see how far you get. In your life right now you might have waves as big as mountains and winds with force of a hurricane but drive on, see how far you can get.
Through out history those who are most successful are those who fail the most, they fail the most because they try the most. They are in constant pursuit of how far they can get. They are testing the limits or what they can and can not do. In the words of that women "Oh They may get tired sometimes, but they just rest and then keep on going, just seeing how far they can get". I challenge us all to start and see how far we can get.
Let me take you the story of peter walking on water. For those of us not familiar with it, it can be found in the book of Matthew, the fourteenth chapter, verses twenty two thru thirty four. Jesus decides to walk out to the disciples walking on the water, and for those unfamiliar it wasn't winter and the water wasn't frozen. Jesus walked on liquid water. When Peter saw Jesus on the water he asked that Jesus command him to walk on the water to him. Peter believed if God told him to do it he could. Jesus commanded. Peter immediately got out on the water and began to walk.
Let me Digrees for a moment. How many of us do this. We hear the call of God, its loud clear and definitive. You know you heard from the Lord. Excited you jump out of your boat and start walking.
That is what peter did. It wasn't until he saw the wind and the waves that he got scared and began to sank. Now all of the pictures I have seen of this story show peter doing the same thing...standing still. I believe this is true. Do we really think that peter was walking and then all the sudden did a face plant in water when he saw the waves and got scared. Or do we think that he saw the wind and waves and stopped, got scared and then began to sank. The latter is true. You see peter stopped moving forward, he stopped seeing how far he could get.
This is true in so many or our lives. We hear the call of the Lord loud and definitive we get out and start walking. we see the waves around us then we stop, we see the problems and stop. We never stop with the thought of quiting or failing, but our hesitation is just long enough for us to begin to sink. Our failure comes from the ceasing of seeing how far we can get. My encouragement to you is see how far you get. In your life right now you might have waves as big as mountains and winds with force of a hurricane but drive on, see how far you can get.
Through out history those who are most successful are those who fail the most, they fail the most because they try the most. They are in constant pursuit of how far they can get. They are testing the limits or what they can and can not do. In the words of that women "Oh They may get tired sometimes, but they just rest and then keep on going, just seeing how far they can get". I challenge us all to start and see how far we can get.
