Daily Devotion 7: Walking On Water
When I saw Miriam's drawing for today's devotion, I became really excited! Excited to study this moment in Scripture, but also very excited because it reminds me of my favorite station & drill at Adventure Soccer camp...The Shooting Wall. Maybe you remember too? The big red wall with the holes in it? It is such a fun time of practicing to strike the soccer ball with authority & power...and we use this same story from Scripture to teach the skill.
It all began in the book of Matthew 14:13 when Jesus found himself with the disciples and miraculous things were happening. Please take a moment to read it...it is fantastic! A crowd of over 5000 people had gathered to hear Jesus teach...and they were hungry at the end of the day. Jesus performs an amazing miracle that we still talk about today. This is the setting for today's devotional.
After a long & tiring day of managing crowds and teaching the people, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat to sail ahead of him to the other side. Matthew 14:22 captures the details of this scene as it unfolds. The disciples are sleeping in the boat when one of them yells out “It's a ghost!” Well, it was not a ghost. It was Jesus walking on the water over towards them. Jesus called out to them to reassure them so that they wouldn't be afraid. But Peter wanted to make sure that it really was Jesus, so he called out to Him daring Jesus to call Peter out on the water with Him. You have to read this for yourself! It is an amazing scene that unfolds...
We learned at Adventure Soccer camp something really valuable about shooting the soccer ball. When we take our eyes off of the bouncing soccer ball, we run the risk of not making good contact with the ball when we shoot, or missing it all together. In fact, if we don't make good contact, we will lose all the power the shot has on the goal. And we learned this detail from Peter. As Peter bravely stepped out of the boat walking on the water towards Jesus, his eyes were fixed on Jesus...nothing else. One step after another, Peter defied the laws of nature and WAS walking on water! Wow! But then Peter made a critical mistake, one that most of us shooting a soccer ball have made before as well. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. He was distracted by the wind & the waves. What an amazing lesson on faith that Peter has taught us!
In soccer when shooting, KEEP your eyes on the ball! It may bounce funny or spin and you don't want to miss it! If you want POWER in your shot on goal, you must KEEP your eyes on the ball.
In life, KEEP your eyes fixed on JESUS! Don't get distracted by other things. God's design for power & faith in our lives is for our eyes to be focused on Jesus. There are so many fears, uncertainties & unknowns that can cause us to take our eyes off of Jesus. This is your reminder today to KEEP your EYES on JESUS!
Coach Matt