“My mind just kept racing”
“Kept thinking of “should have saids” and “opinions or suspected opinions of others”
“I feel like I’m walking in a bubble or a cloud”
“I’m so down and discouraged”
“I’m so overwhelmed”
“Feeling frustrated and angry”
“I feel like I’m drowning”
Have you ever felt this way?
I’m being very transparent with you. Something that honestly doesn’t come so natural to me. These quotes listed above are from my journal while going through a valley recently.
9/30/17 Journal entry:
So, I was praying earlier. But I was telling the Lord how unqualified of His forgiveness and grace I felt. He reminded me of Peter. Peter was WITH Jesus. Literally, physically walked and talked with Him, yet he denied Jesus 3 times and was still used mightily for the Lord. Then the Lord reminded me of when Peter walked on water. In Matthew 14:22-36, the note in my Bible for verse 27 says: In this life there are many things we could fear, but Jesus wants us to trust Him. We have no reason to be afraid if we depend on Him. His words of encouragement are based on His unlimited power and intense personal love for all who truly belong to Him.
Jesus has unlimited power and an intense personal love for those who truly belong to Him.
(This will go in and out of journal entry and today. Just know that the Lord was preparing this word for you even then.) 🙂
Several things about these scriptures I wanted to work through (Matt. 14:22-36, I suggest you open up your Bible and read before going further).
Jesus went alone to pray.
– If Jesus, the Son of God went alone to pray, got alone with God to prepare for the things that were coming that He had to endure. How much more do we need to get alone with God? We need to passionately pursue a relationship with the Lord. Then, we need to aggressively protect that time and relationship with Him.
When the disciples first saw Jesus they were terrified.
– Have you been terrified by something that the Lord has given you? A dream or a calling that seems too big? You saw Jesus standing out on the water, something that just didn’t seem right. These plans seem too big or scary, Jesus seemed scary when they didn’t know what or who He was. They were uncertain, uncomfortable.
Jesus immediately comforted them and said “Do not be afraid”
– When things are going on that we don’t understand Jesus, is right there. He is there immediately. He is always with us, constantly telling us “Do not be afraid”. The most frequent thing that God tells us “not to do” in the Bible is to “fear not” or some form of that, like “Do not be afraid”.
– Isn’t it so comforting to know that Jesus is there immediately?
Peter was bold and enthusiastic about His trust in Jesus, He jumped at the opportunity to walk out to Jesus.
– That zeal and excitement of serving the Lord, running after Him, literally jumping out of a boat to go to Him. Do you remember when you had that? Do you still? If not, why? What happened?
“Come”
– Jesus saw Peter’s enthusiasm and told Him to basically “Go for it”. Yes! Come to Me! Go and enthusiastically tell people about Jesus.
Peter walked on water. Peter did the impossible. But as soon as things got uncertain, uncomfortable, unsteady, he became afraid and started to sink into the water.
– Remember when I asked if you remembered being enthusiastic about serving the Lord? Or being in a certain ministry? Could this be what happened? Things got messy, they got uncertain and the secure boat that you were once in started to rock and shake. You have two options: You can run and begin to panic and fear, worry, doubt, be afraid… or you can trust. You can be still. You can lock eyes with your Savior, focus on Him and continue to walk on that water while the wind and waves circle around you.
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught Him.
– Maybe you did start to sink. Maybe you’re like Peter and things got too overwhelming, and you got fearful, and now you feel like everything around you is swirling and you can’t catch your breath, can’t see, can’t focus.
– Immediately.
– Peter called out “Lord save me!” and immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.
– Sometimes when we feel like we’re drowning, we tend to be so distracted by the situation or so focused on who can we tell, who can we go to… we forget the one thing that will truly help. Jesus. All we have to do is submit to Him. Submit our plans, our will, our hearts to Him and He will Immediately Reach Out and Catch Us. When we truly submit, re-evaluate what’s happening and whats going on, are we drowning because we’ve taken on things He didn’t ask us to? Are we drowning because we are so distracted by relationships or social media and comparison that we can’t see straight? Are we drowning because we’ve forgotten our first Love? Get alone with God and search your heart.
Little faith & doubt
– Romans 1:5 says “Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”
– The nature of true saving faith — the kind that allows us to have a personal relationship with God — is identified by a deliberate choice to join one’s life to God and to follow his Son, Jesus, in love, devotion, gratitude, and obedience.
– Faith is obedience. Jesus said “Oh you of little faith.” Could He have also said, “Oh you of little obedience”? Jesus told Peter to come. Come to Him. Not to look at the situation. Peter worked with Jesus, was with Jesus all the time. He would have known that Jesus could handle the wind and waves. Jesus didn’t say “Come, but if the waves get too high, turn back” or “Come, but I don’t know if you’re going to make it.” No! Jesus “knows the plans He has for us! Plans to prosper and give us a future and a hope!” Jesus said to Come. Are we being obedient to Jesus? Are we following Him, are we trusting Him, or are we focusing on what’s around us, what we see, the unsteady times we are living in or the situations that surround us?
Jesus brought Peter back to safety
– Jesus brought Peter back, safe and sound. He didn’t shun him, or harass him for his little faith. He just brought him to safety.
Worship
– When Jesus saves us. We need to remember to worship Him. When he has calmed the waves and steadied our lives, we need to remember to worship Him.
– When the waves are rushing in and the wind is howling, we need to remember to worship him.
– “Praise Him in this storm” praise Him in the calm.
9/30/17 Journal:
This is definitely for me. Whether I use it in a message or not, it’s for me. I’ve said idk how many times lately that I feel like I’m drowning. When did I lose focus? When did I start trying to do things in my strength and not His? When did I lose sight of His vision and His plans and start to make things about me and my desires? No more. I want to hear His voice, His plans, His desires.
Do you feel overwhelmed today? Like you can’t see straight and things are just swirling around you? Breathe, friend, you are not alone. I have been there (if I was sitting with you I’d put my hand on your arm or hug you). Remember your First Love. Remember Jesus, remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. What is it exactly that you are overwhelmed with? Work, family, finances, ministry? Write it down. Surrender it to the Lord.
I want to pray with you. I remember so clearly the literal turmoil that I could feel, it certainly wasn’t from the Lord and neither is what you’re feeling if it’s confusion. I want you to read the scene and prayer below, claim it as your own and do the suggestions, then I want you to journal, read your Bible, spend some sweet time with your Savior.
Picture yourself on an ocean, in a boat. Jesus is just off in the distance and has called you. What did He call you to? This is specific to you, think about what this is for you (being a mother or father, being a children’s pastor, being a caregiver to a loved one, being a pastor, being a missionary, being a career woman/man, being a woman/man of prayer). Now, did you accept that calling? If He called you to be a mother and you now have children, your answer would be yes. 😉 Because you said yes you now step out of the boat. Keep your eyes on Jesus! Now people start having opinions and waves begin to form, finances get a little tight so the wind begins to blow, you and your spouse don’t see eye to eye and the waves get bigger, you can see them out of your peripheral vision…. Now… you decide….. Do you take your eyes off Jesus and look at the problems? Do you focus on the chaos around you? Think about it… Or do you lock eyes with Jesus, stare into His eyes and keep walking toward Him. Trust that He alone controls the wind and the waves. He alone knows the plans He has for you.
Lord, I thank you for my sweet friend reading this post today. God, you know everything that’s going on around them. You know what calling You’ve placed on their lives and You know the wind and the waves that may be circling around them. Lord, I ask that right now they would feel your peace wash over them. I pray that they would lock eyes with You. That you would strengthen them, give them a boldness to take their stand in authority over the spiritual realm and cast down every darkness that would surround them. Lord, I speak favor over their life and their calling. Whatever their calling is, Lord, I ask that it would prosper, give them a fresh and new anointing starting today. I pray that every issue would be resolved and every attack of the enemy would be canceled in Jesus name. I thank you, Lord, for the freedom we have in you. You alone are more than enough, you control the wind and the waves. You are our Creator, Healer, Strong Tower, Alpha, Omega, and all that we need. I thank you, Lord, that they will rest well tonight, that they will no longer feel that they are drowning. They are raised up in You. In Jesus name, Amen.