Take Heart

Jesus often tells His disciples (and us), “Take heart.” This is not a simple phrase to skip over. In the passages I read recently, the meaning is clear: He is telling us to feel encouraged, have courage, hope, and be determined (John 16:33; Matt. 14:27; Matt. 9:22; 9:2; Mark 10:49, ESV, HCSB). Messages in the Old Testament reflect the same sentiment—Psalms 27:14 and 31:24, to name a couple.

Not because of what we can do but because of what God has already done. The key is to look to Jesus Christ and focus on Him.

In reading the Jesus Calling Devotional this week, Sarah Young writes, “Wear my peace with regal dignity.” This reminded me of the Isaiah verse where God’s arm brought salvation – putting on the armor as Paul listed in Eph. 6, but catch this visual – “He wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak” (Isa. 59:17, HCSB, emphasis added).

I frequently pray for each piece of armor and end my prayers with this verse to wrap myself in zeal as a cloak. “To put on the armor is to put on the Messiah Himself” (Isa. 11:5, ESV). Talk about the ultimate protection from the enemy!

Peter’s faith helped him take the first step to walk on water toward Jesus. But as soon as his eyes shifted to the storms around him, he began to sink and cried out to Jesus for help (Matt. 14:29-30, ESV). The disciples had been in the boat battling the storms for over nine hours. Sometimes, we wait until we are desperate and afraid before we call on Him to save us. Fear has a way of taking over at times. We forget to focus on Christ and feel like we are sinking into despair.

But don’t miss this next verse: As soon as Peter cried out, “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him” (Matt. 14:31, ESV, emphasis added). Doubt and fear can work like an anvil – weighing us down. When we cry out, Jesus immediately answers our plea.

Recognizing God’s presence is the anecdote to fear.

Jesus’ invitation to “come” (v. 29) is a never-ending offer. He is our shelter from every storm (Psalm 46:1, ESV), but our faith wavers when we focus on the storms instead of God. How quickly do we forget that Jesus is the Son of God and His saving power?

If we go back to the passages just before Peter’s encounter with Jesus on the water, the disciples had just witnessed Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves.  They had just seen a miracle (Matt. 14:13-21), but they waited nine hours in the middle of the next storm and began to panic before calling on God to help. Then, when Jesus was there, they still had doubts, and as we see, Peter takes his eyes off Jesus for a moment, and that is all it took to bring the overwhelming fear back.

“The safest place to be is in God’s will” (Young, Jesus Calling).

The NLT Chronological Life Application Study Bible notes the best way to maintain faith in difficult situations is to focus on the power of Jesus rather than our inadequacies. We can reach out to the only One who can help in times of faltering faith.

Going back to Jesus feeding 5,000. It mentions they had leftovers: “They ate and were filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces” (Matt. 14:20, HCSB, emphasis added)! Did you catch that? Not only did they feed a multitude with a small amount of food, and they were filled, but they also had leftovers – TWELVE BASKETS.

There is another lesson in the leftovers: God not only gives good gifts but also gives in abundance. He multiplies whatever small amount we can offer, whether our time, resources, or abilities, above our wildest expectations. If we take the first step in faith and make ourselves available to God, He will demonstrate how greatly He can use you to advance the work of the Kingdom (The NLT Chronological Life Application Study Bible).

I recently watched a sermon by Steven Furtick, who said Peter looked too far ahead instead of what was right in front of him. He demonstrated how we must take one step at a time with what we know today and not look too far into the future or at our past. Instead, we need to focus on each step we take with God at this moment and let Him lead us to His purpose and plan.

If we can manage this, God will show up abundantly and do immeasurably more than we can fathom. In our weakness, He is strong (2 Cor. 12:9, ESV).

Take heart. Jesus Christ is all-powerful and is for us (Rom. 8:31-32, ESV).

“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us – to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-23, HCSB, emphasis added).

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me” (2 Cor. 12:9, HCSB, emphasis added).