Fearless: Keep Our Eyes Fixed

I hope y’all had a great weekend full of JOY. I (Nicole) don’t know about you, but the statement about joy that Savannah’s husband made totally rocked me on Thursday. Just in case you missed her post, here are Josh’s wise words.

“Joy is something that can’t be shaken by outside events.”

Whew, is that good or what? Even though this week is all about peace, we have to keep building on the “fruits” that we’ve learned. I think Josh’s statement leads in perfectly to our discussion about peace, the third fruit of the spirit. What happens if we decided to choose peace BEFORE outside events shake us?

What happens if we choose peace SO THAT outside events don’t shake us?

I have always struggled with keeping my security in the Lord. It seems that the smallest of circumstances can rock my unleveled foundation of peace and send me flying into a pit of fear. The well known story of Peter walking on the water is a story that reflects instances in my life.

I’ll give you a little context to the moment that is recorded in Matthew 14:28-31. Jesus had just taken the five loaves and two fishes and fed a crowd of THOUSANDS. Jesus then instructed his disciples to get in their boat while he went to pray. The disciples went through a huge storm and when it was almost morning, they saw Jesus walking on the water. Here is what happened with Peter…

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strongwind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

At first, Peter was eager to get out of the boat and walk towards Jesus. He had his eyes fixed on him. As Peter got out of the boat, he let his circumstances get in the way of his view of Jesus. Aren’t we like that? We say we trust Jesus and that we have peace in his plans, but then when the wind picks up and the waves rise around us we start to sink like Peter. That’s been MY story. I’ve let my fears and my situations get bigger than Jesus. I’ve moved my gaze from Jesus to the rising waters around me.

How different would our lives be if we kept our eyes fixed on Jesus? What if we choose peace over fear? Y’all, I can tell you one thing for sure; True peace will never come if we don’t keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we keep our focus on Him, He will guide us EXACTLY where He wants us. Will it hurt sometimes? Yes. Will we face scary things? Yes. Will He still be the God of the Universe? YES! Jeremiah 29:11 says that God KNOWS the plans He has for us. They’re already written, already planned. The only way we will ever find peace is if we LET GO of all control and hand it all over to him. The more that we focus on the wind and waves in our lives, the smaller our God gets. But, the more we focus on HIM, the more PEACE we will have.

Do you want to experience peace?

Here are some steps you can take:

-Ask the Lord to show you the areas of your life where you DON’T trust Him.

-Pray about these things and ask God to give you the courage to hand them over.

-Make an effort to realize when you are choosing fear over peace.

-Stay IN THE WORD! His voice is there, his heart is there, his peace is there.

Don’t be afraid to trust the Lord. Have faith and get peace in return!