Reckless abandonment
Matthew 14:29-30 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
I read this passage in My Utmost for His Highest devotional this morning. It is of the story of Peter in the great storm at sea; when they all were afraid they were going to die, and they saw Christ walking on water. Peter joined him in the example of reckless abandonment to Christ. There is so much to unpack in this story; of how Peter asked for Christ to call him out, of how he wanted to be in the center of His Will, of how when his eyes were on Christ, he was on the top of the waves; of how when he took his eyes off Christ, he began to sink and surely drown. Christ saved him and the sea was calmed.
Oswald writes of how to not question where we are in life, of to not question the circumstances that surround our lives, especially if we are abandoned to Christ in them. Do you feel that tug for more of Christ? Do you feel Christ calling you to something special, something that takes an act of obedience to that call? Do you understand that is a rock of Christianity; the acts of obedience to what our Lord is calling us to do? Christianity is not a religion where we set up our pleas for God to bless and join us in our plans we have laid out. Christianity is about joining God where He is already at work, and dedication of ones life to following Him in that work. Christ spoke the words “follow me” 21 times in the New Testament. John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
How can you follow Him if you do not hear him? How can you hear Him if you do not seek him? How can you say you seek Him if you only do so one day a week, or only when you have a need arise? Only a true heart for Christ can hear that still, small voice that comes from him. That still small voice is one that is heard only when one seeks to silence all the static the world provides. That still, small voice is heard in the alone times with Him; when all else sleeps, or when solitude is found. He hears your petitions and prayers; he discerns your heart and sees through the fluff. You will come to know and hear Him, the more your heart genuinely pursues him. Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. If you truly have a heart for Christ, you will live your life in pursuit of all that He is, and has laid out for you. You will live your life in pursuit of obtaining and remaining in the center of His Will for it. Reckless abandonment to all that he speaks to you.
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