Ghost Storiesഉദാഹരണം

Yesterday ended with the question of what is keeping you from stepping out of the boat? Like the other disciples in the boat, we often like to stay in our comfort zone and not step out in faith. Maybe you’re scared of the change that God’s call will bring to your life or you’re worried about what other people will think if you truly lay down your life for Jesus. We all go through times in our lives when we doubt or become scared and don’t want to have the faith required to step out of the boat. However, we must follow the examples of Abraham, Peter, and even Jesus to step out in our faith. Let’s recap the past two days.

Yesterday we read that Jesus told Peter to walk to Him since Peter knew that it was Jesus walking on the water, and not a ghost like the others thought. Peter obeyed and got out of the boat. Yes, Peter actually walked on water like it was hard ground. Peter had to have faith in order to step out of the boat. Jesus called him to step out so that Peter could see if it was actually Him and Peter, being the daring guy that he is, climbed over the side of the boat and onto the water. Now, this was not calm waters that Peter stepped out into, there was a storm that was going on in the distance which made the waters extremely choppy with waves. It was bad enough that skilled fishermen were scared of the storm going on and what it was doing to the waters. This shows that Peter needed even more faith to step out of the boat. If you’ve ever seen the effects of a storm on a lake or even the ocean, you know just watching it can be scary but imagine being on a boat in the middle of choppy waters. Now, imagine jumping out of a boat into that same water. It would probably be more likely that you would be overtaken by the waves and struggle to even swim, let alone walk on the water. Peter had enough faith in Jesus to step out of the boat and trust that Jesus would take care of Him.

Abraham, like we read on day two had a different story but it required just as much faith. In Genesis 22 we read that Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son. Abraham was obedient in this to the point of preparing the materials to sacrifice his son. Sacrifice was not unusual in the Old Testament, it was done often by sacrificing clean animals for their sin since Jesus had not come to die for their sins yet. This is how Abraham knew the necessities for a sacrifice from finding the wood, cutting it, preparing it on an altar, and having the knife that would be used for the sacrifice. The only difference is this time it was his son that he was supposed to sacrifice. Abraham did not hesitate in stepping out in his faith. He gathered the supplies, took his son, climbed the mountain, and laid his son down on the altar. At any point, Abraham could have walked back down the mountain and saved his son from being sacrificed yet Abraham had faith that God had a plan and that He would provide. We are called to have the same radical faith as Abraham. Even when we do not understand what God is doing or what He is calling us to do, we can step out in faith and trust that God will provide and guide us. He has a plan and He has proven his faithfulness so we can trust Him. When we do not understand yet place our faith in Him, He will make our paths straight.

One of the many things that keeps us from living out a radical faith are distractions. Distractions keep us from focusing on who God is and what He is doing in our lives. When we are distracted how the enemy wants us to be, our faith is stagnant or even shrinks. There are many things that can distract us from fully following Jesus like school, drama, friends, social media, sports, busyness, and pretty much anything if you allow it to become one. While not all distractions are bad distractions, they are still distractions. Anything that is keeping you from stepping out in your faith and keeping you from being obedient in what the Lord is calling you to is a distraction. For the rest of this week, we will be looking at an example from Luke of when someone was distracted instead of sitting in the presence of their Savior. We’ll also be looking at the call of obedience and our willingness to obey in faith. Throughout the remainder of this study, think of the distractions in your life and surrender those to the Lord.