“Peter, tough Peter, cried out, Lord, if it is you, bid me come to Thee ” (Matthew 14:28).
Wise Jesus says: Come. How many of us have answered His call upon our lives, stretched as far as we could in our own might: many of us have given much to follow Him, to “Come.”
We might think He is discontented with us. He is not – unless we cut and run and we cannot do that either: we may be stuck in that “rock and a hard place.” He is the Rock; we are in a hard place. Good.
It won’t be long: some of us longer than others: all of us sooner or later; we cannot be content with fruitless lives. We cannot be content with “little faith.” We can’t muster bigger faith. We can’t – really – do anything until we begin to fathom the meaning of His words, “Without me, ye can do nothing ” (John 15:5).
Every preacher who feels discouraged, every Christian parent, every person who is trying to pay the bills, every person who has been overtaken by temptation – e v e r y o n e – needs to realize that Jesus is a Friend like no other. He cannot, and does not desire to let us stumble.
“Now to Him who is able to keep us from stumbling. . .” (Jude 1: 24-25)
Past struggles make great stories the Bible is full of them for our encouragement. Past failures, sins we’ve committed, losses we’ve seen – God designed a cross for them. Forgiveness is more than an idea. Mercy is more than a storybook tale.
“Now unto Him that will do exceeding abundantly above what we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).
Do more, LORD, than I ask – I sell us short – I know I do; but I don’t want to ever again.
Buddy . . .