Our Rescuer

It was a dark and stormy night! The lighting was crashing; the waves were high and pushing the boat around. The disciples were trying to make their way through this storm when all of a sudden there was a ghost! The men were terrified. Right then, a voice cut through all of the fear, noise and chaos surrounding the boat and said “Take Courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

The moment seemed unreal, even after everything they had witnessed walking with Jesus, Peter still called out “Lord if it is you, tell me to come on the water.” Jesus said one word, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water! It was an amazing sight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw the waves being driven by the wind, he began to lose heart and become afraid. He started to sink and in that moment he cried “Lord, save me!” Jesus saved him and brought him back to the boat. (Matt 14:22–33)

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Despite Peters doubt and fear Jesus still saved him. “You of little faith” did not change Jesus mind about whether Peter should live or die. No he went to him faithfully and pulled him out of the water. This moment was ordained by God to testify to an important truth. “Truly you are the Son of God.”(Matt 14:33).

The moment of our salvation is meant to do the same thing. We go through life doing our own thing, making plans, striving and working, chasing after dust. Then in a single moment the Lord spoke and cut through all the chaos and insanity of our lives. Our eyes and ears were opened; our hearts were broken, made ready to be rescued.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” Just as Peter could not save himself from drowning, we cannot save ourselves from the wrath of God. So Jesus did what we could not do, he lived the perfect life, died the sinners death and had the wrath of God poured out upon him for our sakes.

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This amazing and beautiful gift, paid for by the blood of Jesus, is given because God loves us his children and desires a different outcome. This means that if we are saved and our truly children of God, we cannot lose this gift. While we are being sanctified in this life, we can hold on to that promise that no matter what happens in this world, we will always be children of God. So when life gets the best of us, when we are downcast, whether we are failing or succeeding, nothing can separate us from God and his love (Romans 8:38–39)

The key is remembering the truth, while our mind and feelings may yell other thing. I promise they will. Take heart; hold on tight to God’s word. Yell, scream, pray to God and ask for help, for he is the one that saved us once, and he is the one that will continue to save us when we are losing heart.

Love Ben (Luke 9:23–24)