Faith
“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:31.
When my children were toddlers there were times when they wanted so badly to attempt something new but were fearful, such as jumping off the side of the pool into the water. As a mother, I knew that I would catch them but as the small child they doubted. It was new for them…scary…unchartered waters. I would plead for them to look at me instead of looking at the distance between us. After coaxing and convincing, our eyes would finally meet, followed by the leap, and falling into my arms…both of us laughing, rejoicing and sharing in that moment. ‘See, I told you that you could do it! I don’t know why you didn’t think you could! Look at what you did! We had that moment of shared joy and accomplishment.
Kay Warren, author of Choose Joy, encourages me to see Jesus in a different way. Instead of seeing Him the way most art depicts Him…somber… suffering… burdensome…she entreats me to see Him for the way He was. ‘The Son of Man came, enjoying life’ Luke 7:34 (PH). I have always thought the above exchange between Peter and Jesus was more about Peter’s lack of faith being highlighted. This morning, however, I believe it was similar to what I experienced with my own children when they were young. It brought me such joy and laughter when they attempted something beyond their confidence. I delighted in their sense of accomplishment, scooping them up, hugging and kissing them. My encouragement after the jump was to convince them of their abilities and share in their new confidence.
This is the essence of Jesus Christ…joyful, encouraging, catching us, lifting us up in celebration when we attempt to jump as a result of our faith. We allow Him to catch us when we lose our breath from the jump. We rest in His arms as He carries us back over to the side with a new found confidence. We have shared in joyful intimacy and confident accomplishment. Sure, there will be more jumps to take, more leaps of faith and more water in our face with the plunge. But, He lovingly and delightfully looks into our eyes as He holds us close and says, ‘And you didn’t think you could do it!’
And then we laugh because we don’t even know why we doubted.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 577 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Brenda Emmons or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 577 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.