God With Us

Someone close to me said, “God feels so distant right now.” I had the joy of reminding them of the truth. God is not distant. He is never distant. He said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) Therefore, if He feels distant to us it’s because we have taken our eyes off of Him. There are so many things today that can easily distract us. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus is how we know that God is with us.

After a day of miraculous teaching, Jesus spent time alone praying. He had sent Peter and the other disciples off into a boat. The boat drifted a considerable distance because of the wind and waves. Just before dawn, “Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.” (Matthew 14:25) Can you imagine? They were all terrified. Jesus reassured them as He approached. Then Peter strong in courage asked permission to walk to Him. Jesus simply answered, “Come.” (Matthew 14:29) Peter with his eyes fixed on Jesus got out of the boat and walked on the water. The power of God! But the very second Peter turned his eyes to that wind he began to sink. He cried out to the Lord and “Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.” Then asked him, “Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) Which is the same question for all of us today. Why do we doubt?

Our problems are just like the wind and waves. It only takes a momentary look at them and we can move from faith to fear. From courage to doubt. From walking in God’s power to questioning if He is even with us. The answer is to fix your eyes on Jesus. Don’t lose focus. God is with us!