Keep your eyes on Jesus

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33) 

Peter was the only one that got out of the boat. He was doing fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the stormy, crazy water below his feet. Then he got into trouble. He was fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus. In our walk with God, over time, we take our eyes off of Jesus and we become vulnerable to the situations of life around us. The strength of our journey is Jesus. He is everything. Keep your eyes on Jesus. 

Why? He is the author and finisher of our faith. He’s a good finisher. We always celebrate new beginnings. We love new years, new babies, new marriages. We are not always good at finishing things well. God celebrates finishing. The moment Jesus and you began your faith walk, he knew what you would be like fifteen years later in your walk with him. And a thirty-year-old Christian. He knows the end of your faith. He knows the end of your destiny. 

In Revelations, John relays that Jesus calls himself the first and the last. He is the beginning and the end. He is the alpha and omega. He’s the alphabet of our journey. Jesus is a good finisher. 

As a track runner, you become very familiar with what they call a “second wind”. It comes at a certain point in the long distance run when you need an extra boost to get you to the end. I believe that wherever you are, you are going to get a second wind. Christ is with you. He wants you to finish well. Christ knows how to help you finish the race you are running. He knows how to help you finish and he has some surprises for you. “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..” (Philippians 1:6) 

God is a great finisher. God will not leave us. He’s the author and finisher. We don’t have to worry about the endings. We don’t have to worry about the later years. Our God knows how to get us across the finish line. The finish line of destiny, of purpose, of the successful completion of our lives, of our journey.