Beginning to Sink

Matt 14:30 But when he(Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, "Lord, save me".  (KJV)

There is nothing in this world as tragic as someone who has sunk.  Someone with a world of promise and yet is a public mess, someone with pockets full of finances and yet they're are broke, someone with a body full of talent and yet is it spent. It's one of the greatest tragedies.  You cannot hide the fact that you have sunk. Everyone knows you are at the bottom.  Your clothes are soaked, you have seaweed in your hair, minnows wiggling in your pockets and you couldn’t hide it if you wanted. 

But my blog is not about people in total despair, my blog is about people who are in the "process" of sinking. They might be a working buddy or a treadmill girl friend.  They could be on the song team at church or the boy scout camping committee.  College level or 20 years as a CPA, stock broker or local laborer it doesn’t make any difference, they are sinking. A person sinking is very difficult to identify and yet they may be very dear or near to us. Their shoes are soaked, their stockings may be wet and yet we fail to even notice that in life, or faith, that very near person is sinking. 

In the above scripture, at least Peter was smart enough to yell to Jesus, ‘Save me, Lord.’ There are some interesting factors about Peter and how he started sinking that may help you or someone you love.

First.  Peter began to sink b/c of his personality... like most of us,he had some personality traits that weren’t always an asset to him.  The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:2 that we are to be humble and make allowances for each others faults because of our love.

Second, Peter began to sink in familiar settings....He knew the lake, the surroundings, the people, and he knew his boat, but still the water was rising.  Make sure you look around at those most familiar to you and lend them some love if they are struggling.

Third, Peter was on a permitted path...Jesus was the One who told him to come. Yeah, people sinking are not always rebels. They may be 20 years on their chosen career, their dream job or favorite position. They may have 37 anniversaries behind them.  It is the path they took yet they are sinking.

Fourth, Peter began to sink because of fear. Fear is crippling, paralyzing. If you see someone in a battle with fear take them to the side, help them.
Fifth, Peter was a loyal disciple and he still began to sink. Rookies or veterans alike can sink. There was no doubt of Peter’s great love and loyalty to the Lord. He was no beginner.  He had done yeomen’s service to the Lord and yet, there he was slipping under.

Last, this one really gets me - Peter sank while his friends were near.  Yep! There he was right near his buddies, 11 of them in a boat. There is not one mention in the scriptures that indicate that any of them began to help him when he started to slip into the water.

So, keep a sharp eye out for your friends and buddies or your other partners and pals.  Some of them may be sinking.

Spreading

 This blog is about are you as[preading or trying to spread problems

Beginning to Sink

Matt 14:30 But when he(Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  (KJV)

There is nothing in this world as tragic as someone who has sunk.  Someone with a world of promise and yet are a personal mess, someone with a pocket full of finances and they are broke, someone with a body full of talent and yet they are spent.

It is one of the great tragedies of life to see someone sunk. It is very difficult to hide the fact that you are sunk. Everyone knows you are at the bottom.  Your clothes are soaked, you have sea weed in your hair, minnows wiggling in your pockets and you couldn’t hide it from a blind person if you wanted.  People who have sunk in life are easy to recognize.

But people who are sinking thats a different story. People who are sinking are very difficult to recognize.  They might be a working buddy or a treadmill girl friend.  They could be on the song team at church or the Boy Scout camping committee.  College level or 20 years as a CPA, stock broker or local laborer it doesn’t make any difference they are sinking. A person sinking is very difficult to identify and yet all the time they may be very dear or near to us. Their shoes are socked and their stockings may be wet and yet we fail to even notice that in life, or faith that very near person is sinking.  In our scripture Peter began to sink and I have to hand it to him he at least was smart enough to yell to Jesus, ‘Save me, Lord.’

There are some interesting factors about Peter and how he began to sink and maybe some or one of them may help you or someone you love or know.

First.  Peter began to sink b/c of his personality...now everybody knows Peter like most of us had some personality traits that weren’t always an asset to him.  The bible tells us in Ephesians’ 4:2 that we are to be humble and to always make allowances for each others faults because of our love.

Second, Peter began to sink in familiar settings....He was a fisherman from youth and he knew his boat but still He was sinking.  Make sure you look around at those most familiar to you and lend them some love if they are struggling.

Third, Peter was on a permitted path...Jesus told him to come....yea people sinking are not always rebels they may be 20 years on their chosen career, their dream job or favorite position. They may have 37 anniversaries behind them.  It is the path they took yet they are sinking.

Fourth, Peter began to sink because of fear. Fear is crippling, paralyzing, if you see someone in a battle with fear take them to the side, help them.

Fifth, Peter was a loyal disciple and he still began to sink. Rookies or veterans alike can sink. There was no doubt of Peter’s great love and loyalty to the Lord. He was no beginner.  He had done yeomen’s service to the Lord and there he was sinking.

Last, this one really gets me! Peter sank while his friends where near.  Yep! There he was right near his buddies, 11 of them in a boat and there is not one mention in the scriptures that indicate that any of them even saw Peter beginning to slip in the water. Keep a sharp eye out for your friends and buddies or your other partners and pals.  Some of them may be sinking.

Might

I want to encourage all of you in your faith to day. There are so many detrimental factors slapping at our faith and love of God.  In Ephesians it tells us to 'be strong in the Lord and the power of His might'.  It doesn't say be strong in yourself, or be strong financially. There is no hint of positioning yourselves in the economy through your mutual funds or to go to the gym and exercise your body for the strength you will need to face the stresses of this world. It really is quite simple what the Good Book is telling us to be strong in. Not yourself, but, 'be strong in the Lord' 
  You are to block out all the things in your life that would replace God as your leaning post.  God is the one that your strength is to be found in. When you nurture your love of God, when you know and understand the power of His Word, when you can say "yes and amen" to His promises and know they are sure and when you can claim the blood of Jesus and all it benefits.....that is the strength you are to have.  Only the Lord can provide that.
 Only God can foresee the future and prepare you for it.  Only God can carry the weight of worldly news and concern. Every other type of strength will collapse. Dollars collapse to financial rumors, bodies fall to sickness and diseases, minds collapse to worry and fear, automobiles collapse to rust and ruin and under the right conditions everything in this world that we hold dear for security will fail us. But God's strength, praise the Lord, gets stronger as the leaning on it gets heavier. (Psalms 49 is an awesome chapter about what to trust in and what NOT to trust in.)
It says the 'power of His might'. To me that is really an awesome statement.   How much power is in God's might? If you told me God has might I would say that is enough to keep me. Yes, He is mighty, Amen...but the Bible adds this adjective - 'power' - to the phrase. That helps you realize the full force of His might...and that's a powerful thought.