Success

“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matt. 14:29-30)

Epic Fail!  You can  look it up sometime.  If you do you will find online pages and pages of pictures and videos of people failing.  Some of them admittedly are funny. Sort of an online America's Funniest Videos.  People falling, making a poor decision to cut a limb while they are sitting on it, you know that sort of thing.  But some of them can be incredibly cruel.

  One of the reasons these are so popular is that we can all relate.  We have all field at some point, whether that be trying to walk across an icy parking lot to Ill advisedly believing that we can make it down that steep hill on a bike.  I suspect these sites are also popular because it helps us know we aren't the only ones making mistakes or failing.  There is a baser part of our natures that enjoys seeing someone else fail, because it keeps us from feeling so bad about ourselves.

  And we all fail.  None of us has a perfect success rate. None of us gets it right all the time. And today everyone will know about it. It's one of the unfortunate byproducts of our living in the age we do.  No one's failings are privater anymore.  Fail, and there will certainly be cameras flashing and posting before you get home.

   Peter is fortunate he didn't live in today's world.  Can you imagine?  Here is Peter, walking on the water toward Jesus, and suddenly he panics. The waves are all around him. He begins to flail, sputter and sink.  If this happened today, the other 11 disciples would all have their smart phones out videoing Peter.s epic fail.

  Or was it? When I read this story it reminds me that God doesn't define success and failure the way we do.  we are results oriented. the only way to measure if you are a success is by the results we have at the end of the day.  Did we accomplish what we set out to do.

  But Jesus doesn't view success in the same way.  For Jesus success isn't measured by results, but by obedience.  Let me say that again.  God does not measure our success by the results of our endeavors, but by our willingness to be obedient to His call.

  Isn't that Good News! When we understand this, it frees us from the feelings of anxiety and guilt we often carry.  And it allows us to understand that sometimes what we see as a failure, God will use in a completely unexpected way to bring about His kingdom.

  When we begin to understand this we see that Peter is not the failure in this story. The failure belongs to the eleven who refused to get out of the boat.  Yes, peter needed Jesus to rescue him. It didn't go exactly according to plan. But Peter walked on water. He refused to stay in the boat. He answered His master's call. Just think.  Eleven others missed an opportunity because they were too busy worrying about results instead of obedience.

  Is God calling you to follow Him into unknown territory? Is He calling you to meet Him out on the water. Then, my friends, by all means start walking. Remember the ones who fail are not the ones who splash around. They are the ones who never get out of the boat.

In Christ,
Dr. Brian Jones <><