Faith without obedience
Matthew 14
25. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
26. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
27. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
28. "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29. "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
----
Many people look at stories or verses like this in the Bible and gain courage, and so do I. But when things don't work out as well as we expected, we usually start doubting and sometimes even blame God for "not keeping his promise".
But the truth is that a lot of people fail to see the deeper message of this story. Most people look only at how Peter walked on the water, but don't realise what happened just before that. Verse 29 says that Jesus said "Come" before Peter was able to walk on the water. The power of faith does not equal strong belief or desire. The power of faith is only shown when there is obedience. Peter didn't walk on the water because he had strong faith or had a strong desire to do so. He was able to do it because he obeyed Jesus when he said "come".
Sometimes we try to do things by faith without even asking for God's will. Let us always remember that faith without complete obedience is nothing.
Blessings in Jesus. :jesus-cross:
Matthew 14
25. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
26. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
27. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
28. "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29. "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
----
Many people look at stories or verses like this in the Bible and gain courage, and so do I. But when things don't work out as well as we expected, we usually start doubting and sometimes even blame God for "not keeping his promise".
But the truth is that a lot of people fail to see the deeper message of this story. Most people look only at how Peter walked on the water, but don't realise what happened just before that. Verse 29 says that Jesus said "Come" before Peter was able to walk on the water. The power of faith does not equal strong belief or desire. The power of faith is only shown when there is obedience. Peter didn't walk on the water because he had strong faith or had a strong desire to do so. He was able to do it because he obeyed Jesus when he said "come".
Sometimes we try to do things by faith without even asking for God's will. Let us always remember that faith without complete obedience is nothing.
Blessings in Jesus. :jesus-cross:
