Other Places

"Lord, if it's You," Peter replied, "tell me to come to You on the water." "Come" He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:28-29 Can you imagine what it must have felt like, seemed like to Peter when he stepped out of the boat upon Jesus' invitation and walked on the water? Total exhilaration, excitement, and wonder. We love those kinds of invitations from the Lord. Though Peter sank when he took his eyes off of the Lord, I expect he never had a bit of regret over his stepping out. It was where he wanted to be. Being with Jesus in exciting places is where most, if not all of us want to be. But how about those "other places?" Alicia Britt Chole writes, "If we want to walk on water because that's where Jesus is, then we'll be equally willing to walk with Him in dry deserts, times of temptation, and relentless storms." In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as Sam, Frodo, and Gollum travel through Mordor, Sam remarks how much different the journey would be if they were moving through "decent places," to which Gollum replied, "These aren't decent places." In our journey with the King, He will lead us through places that are decidedly "un-decent." Maybe you're in such a place right now. I know many who are. There are so many of His choice people who are walking through the death of a marriage, through the rebellion and rejection of their children. Through the crippling effects of cancer, or the loss of a beloved mate who died too young, or simply too soon. Sorrow can take so many forms, and it will always take us on a path we would not have chosen for ourselves, but which He has allowed and which He bids us take hold of Him, and follow. It's not an invitation to walk on water, but in the end, if we will obey and trust, we will behold an even greater miracle than that. We will experience His overcoming victory in the face of what we thought would surely destroy us, but didn't, because He was there with us, and we, by faith and trust, were there with Him. I have no explanation for why He allows these other places, or what His intent is when He brings them into our lives. What I do know is that He has purpose for us and purpose to be accomplished in us. I know that if we hold to Him in these places, He will bring beauty from ashes and joy from our mourning. Someone said that in the miracle of the walking on water, Peter walked on top of the waves he had thought would drown him. In these other places, we too can walk on top of the circumstances and dangers that threaten to destroy us. We will not sink beneath them. All we need do is keep our eyes upon Him, always walking both with Him and to Him. Blessings, Pastor O