Don't quit now!

"Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Matthew 14:31

Unfinished paintings. They’re everywhere. And they scream to me that I’m easily distracted from His face and His direction. This week was hectic. And as I neared the end of it, I realized that I hadn’t just taken a moment to be still with God. Sure I had prayed, but I hadn’t taken one minute to sit down with Him and JUST BE IN HIS PRESENCE. I had been focused on moving, on church, on kids, and on work. But I hadn’t slowed down long enough to focus on the maker and perfecter of it all. In that moment of realization, it hit me - that’s where all the worrying and stress had been able to creep in. It was my responsibility to own. I had created the cracks in my armor by focusing on the waves rather than on Jesus. Just like Peter. It’s my favorite Bible story - Peter walking on water. And it’s my favorite because I relate so much to it. There he is, walking on water towards Jesus; Jesus literally helping him to do the impossible. It’s such a beautiful moment between the two of them as Peter chooses to trust Jesus, and Jesus beckons Peter closer to Him. But then Peter notices the storm. He sees the size of the waves, and he starts to sink in panic. Jesus lovingly corrects him, and he ends up safely back in the boat, that much closer to his savior. But it’s the perfect display of being focused on the world rather than on His eyes and on His Kingdom. My confession is that I mimic Peter way too often. I’m ‘walking on water’, He’s leading me to paint things I know I could never paint without Him, my focus is obedience. Then the enemy distracts me with busy, he distracts me with the storm. I let him! And before I know it, I have nothing but unfinished paintings in my studio. Good news is - I HAVE A CHOICE. We all do! See, we don’t need to be focused on the storm because WE AREN’T BATTLING IT ALONE! We have Him. And He gave us the perfect book, full of His words, that can set our focus back where it belongs. Every moment of every day we can meet Him there. We can renew our minds (Romans 12:2). And we can ‘walk on water’ with certainty that He is who He says He is, and that His every promise is true. So obey anyway. Don’t sink. And go find Him. He's patiently waiting.