Matthew 14:22-36 - Jesus walks on the water
In Psychology, water is tantamount to life. The way you look at the water or a body of water speaks of how you see life. Say for example, how would you feel if you're alone in a boat at the middle of the sea? Do you feel fearful or tranquil? Whatever your perception is, according to Psychology, that is how you see life. Thus, we can look at Jesus walking on the water as Jesus being above life.
Hence, this entire account personally tells me that God is truly in control of my life. It is some sort of a reminder that when I get frightened, doubtful, sad, happy or blessed even, I can always look at Jesus and find Him to be better than life itself.
Come! Walk through life with Me (Matthew 14:28-32)
Peter asked the Lord to invite him to step out of the boat so he too can walk on the water. When Jesus did invite him, he walked towards Jesus then suddenly, the wind blew and so frightened was Peter that he begun to sink. "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" were Jesus' words to him and immediately, He grabbed Peter by His hand to rescue him.
For me, it was not the wind or the water that caused Peter to sink, it was actually his fear, his lack of faith to the One who called him that pulled him down. Peter lost his faith because he allowed himself to be distracted by the wind.
Most of the times, we are like Peter. We find it so difficult to sustain that faith in God after we stepped out to respond to His call. It is so easy to lose sight of the Lord when things are getting more difficult and a bit uneasy for us to bear.
The good news is that, no matter how often we fail to put our trust and hope in God, Jesus is ever ready to grab us by His hand to save us and bring us back to the boat where safety and comfort await us. What is certain to me is this--that God is able to keep us back on track whenever we lose hope until His plans and promises are finally accomplished in our lives.
I believe that Jesus invites us all to fix our eyes on Him as we walk through life. The wind will always distract us. Circumstances and people will lead us to doubt His promises to us but Jesus will never let us get drowned. He will not let difficult situations or people destroy us and separate us from Him. He will rescue us and He will do it without delay.
...and still walking on the water, my eyes fixed on Jesus
Two years ago, I decided to take up my master's degree. It has always been my dream to pursue a further study in Economics. I prayed about this decision and clearly, I heard the Lord gave me a go signal to proceed. But with His approval came a warning that this endeavor is not going to be easy and that I should be able to embrace the cross that goes with my decision no matter what.
I once believed that graduate studies are far too easy to complete than college degrees but experiencing it first hand, I realized that it is equally demanding and challenging. During my first term in school, I already failed one subject and failed another one come 2nd term. I even lost my scholarship because I failed to maintain the grade requirement (gosh...this is really embarrassing). The succeeding terms got more challenging because I had to personally finance for my tuition fees. I thought at that time I had enough reasons to quit; the failures and difficulties sort of like entitled me to give up. But whenever I would attempt to leave school, I would be reminded of God's call to pursue my dream. And I must say that He has been really faithful in terms of helping me deal with difficult subjects (and difficult professors!) and providing when there is lack.
Two months from now (assuming everything goes well in school this term), I will be taking the comprehensive exam (the last hurdle to get the master's diploma). Looking back, I saw many instances during the past two years when I was like Peter-when putting my confidence in God and surrendering my dreams to the Lord were such a struggle. Indeed, my experience in graduate school is my own journey of faith. I am happy and fulfilled knowing that I gained more than the knowledge I obtained in my classes. I gained what was essential and truly significant--a deeper conviction of that love God has for me.
Note: Photo was obtained from the World Wide Web
Come! Walk through life with eyes fixed on Jesus (Reflections on Matthew 14:22-36)
I had fun joining 10 other single women of Ligaya ng Panginoon in a Summer Household which started the week of Ascension and ended yesterday, Pentecost Sunday.
The past days were really fun and the Lord just allowed us to enjoy the company of one another and experience the joy of coming together as daughters of God. The laughter, the sharings of the sisters on what happened during the day, the morning and evening prayers...these, among other things made me thank God for allowing me to respond to His invitation to join the household inspite of hectic schedule.
Initially, my desire of joining the household was merely because I wanted to relax from the pressure brought by the previous school term but as days passed by, I realized that there was so much more in store for me in the household. And I felt God bringing all of us from one level of joy to another as He revealed Himself through the Scriptures, activities and sharings of the sisters.
One of the activities we had was watching pyrotechnics in Baywalk. The beautiful firework displays did bring out the child in us. Our eyes couldn't hide the joy as we gazed the beauty that was right before us.
The pyrotechnic is just a part of the wonderful adventure in JH. I realized that God has filled my stay in JH (and my life for that matter)with so much reason to be in awe of Him. I found Him in simple things during my stay in JH like a free tricycle ride on my way to JH one Sunday afternoon, another free ride to JH care of Beth Melchor (which was so timely as I was carrying a heavy laptop bag that time), an unexpected, sumptuous dessert (gelatin) served during one of the meals in the house (the sisters couldn't afford to include dessert in the meals because of time constraints)..these things to me were not mere coincidents...they were concrete manifestations of God's loving presence in my life.
I believe that the household did not end yesterday. For me, it was the beginning of a beautiful life lived through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who inspired the Apostles to proclaim Jesus Christ and His Good News as in the first Pentecost, is the same Spirit who is at work in our lives today to inspire us to do greater things than what our minds and hearts can conceive.
Now, I see what no naked eye can see...I can hear what no human ear can hear...I can feel what no sinful heart can feel...I realized that I know God and His works in my life not by might but by the power of His Holy Spirit. And so, I rejoice in knowing that my life is not necessarily to be lived by what my eye, ear and heart can perceive but by the greatness and vastness of God's love for me.
"Eye has not seen, no ear has heard,
No heart conceived the hope prepared for us,
Now we see dimly but one day clearly,
Face to face we shall behold our God..."
(Our Hearts Will Rise, SOW)
It's been a while since I last posted a blog. I've been busy with school stuff and various office deadlines that I couldn't seem to find time to write down my thoughts lately.
Anyway, this experience I'm going to recount happened few weeks back...a weekend before the Holy Week (March 2008)to be exact. Just after attending a recollection in Ligaya Center, I found myself busy talking with few sisters when a beautiful rainbow suddenly caught my attention.
Rainbow never fails to fascinate me. It was God's symbol of faithfulness to Noah and his descendants in olden times and I feel the same is true between me and God these days. For me, rainbow symbolizes hope and it reminds me to trust God once again. And for some reason, rainbow would appear during times when I feel my faith and trust in Him are slowly depleting.
So going back, my friends and I were staring so amazed at this beautiful thing, when it started pouring. Isn't it ironic that a rainbow appeared just before it rained? There must be something behind it or could this be just one of the many spurious events in my life? Whichever the case may be, I chose to listen to that tiny little voice of God that kind of say "I have something special for you in here". And this brought me to ponder on God's help being readily available to us His children.
It seems to me that God's help is always available to us even before we acknowledge we are actually in need of it. God's generosity seems to work like this (perhaps not exactly) that even before we ask, He already provides -- so lavishly, never sparingly. Before we even ask for sign, glimpse of hope and manifestation of God's presence in our lives--it is already right before us--ready to be recognized. It only takes faith as big as a mustard seed to recognize God's grace present and alive in whatever situation we are in.
The rainbow is indeed amazing! But moreso, God's love and faithfulness. My Easter decision is to continue to preach to my soul--over and over--that God is faithful and merciful. I fall short, sometimes--no not sometimes--but a lot of times to recognize His love, faithfulness and mercy to me but God is a wonderful God, He never gets tired of sending rainbow wherever I go, whenever I need it.
Happy Easter to us all!
Note: Photo was obtained from the web
