Peter is one of my favorite characters in the New Testament. Maybe that is partially due to my potential to spout off and sound off without a lot of thought, like he does. But perhaps it's because I relate to his tenacity and quick action. Of course, he was the one who grabbed a sword and cut off the dude's ear when they came to take Jesus captive. But he was also the only one out of 12 disciples who jumped out of the boat in a storm and walked toward Jesus on the water. The 11 other disciples just sat there watching it unfold but didn't make a move toward Jesus. No condemnation here. I don't know what I'd have done in that situation.
But today, I read another story in John about Peter jumping out of yet another boat to go to Jesus. The disciples had gone fishing after the resurrection. That may seem odd, but I can only imagine the extreme emotions they had gone through over the last 3-4 days. First, Jesus was crucified, and all their dreams and expectations hung on the cross to die with Him. Then He is resurrected, and they went through extreme joy. Those emotional roller coasters can wear a person down! So, they went with what was familiar - fishing. It was a comfortable, familiar, slow-paced spot. It was safe.
However, these extremely experienced fishermen fished all night long and didn't capture a single fish. It was okay. They weren't really there to obtain food or saleable products. They needed the solitude.
Enter Jesus. Again.
But this time, the second that Peter heard it was Jesus, he asked no questions, did not hesitate, and did not look for a confirmation. He just jumped out of the boat and swam to shore. It was a much faster response and turnaround than when he jumped out of the boat in the storm. Isn't this what our goal is? We want to be quicker to hand it all over to the Prince of Peace, faster to run to Him, or swim to Him through our troubles.
I want to be faster at jumping and running toward Him no matter what a day brings. As caregivers, our days can change in a second, on a dime. But so can our responses. May we be quicker to jump into His arms when our emotions run amuck. May we be faster at turning to Him when situations turn on us. Hopefully, we are developing new MOs, which include trusting Him faster and letting His peace reign more quickly.
Today, I'll focus on chasing Him first, instead of a crazy series of thoughts or emotions that may arise. My meditations will be on how He's always present, and so is His peace. I'll put actions to those meditations by choosing His peace first. My prayer will be that He will show me where my thoughts are led off and where my emotions run astray so that trust has a faster turnaround in my heart. And I will trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
Check out my Resources!
No comments:
Post a Comment