Too deep to be shallow

　
Matthew 14:25-33
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

　

Peter had been right there with Jesus as he healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed thousands with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Yet when Jesus was approaching him by walking on water, Peter asked the shallow question, “is it you Jesus?”

When he realized it was truly Jesus, his faith pushed him off the edge of the shallow and into the deep water. He realized he couldn’t do it by himself so he put his trust in Jesus and took that step. He began to walk on water. He was in a place he had never been before yet he continued to walk.

But as soon as he put his mind back on himself and his situation, he began to sink. When he saw the wind he realized the dangers that surrounded him. He realized he could not control the outcome of the situation. We become our own problem when we try to control the outcome of our situations. We panic when we can’t see what lies ahead. We panic when the waves are crashing around us. We panic when the wind blows stronger in our life. We fear the winds and the waves, instead of stepping out on faith and walking on water.

Fear keeps us in the shallow end. The shallow end represents our past, disappointments, doubts, hurts, failures, struggles, afflictions, emotions and whatever else that hinders our walk with Christ.

The shallow end will keep us stagnant. If you try to swim in the shallow water to get to the deep, the sand will weigh you down and get in the way of your journey.

But with Jesus you walk on water past the shallow end into the deep. He will take you by the hand never letting go if you keep your eyes on Him.

When Peter started to doubt, when he lost sight, he called out, “Lord save me!”

The bible says, “Immediately” Jesus reached out and caught him. Jesus immediately showed Peter grace, love and compassion inspite of his doubt in Him. His love for Peter was so great that He didn’t have to think about saving Peter, He just did it.

His love for us is the same way. He loves us so much that He immediately reaches out to us when we call on Him. He desires the same love in return. Unconditional, without doubt, without question, willing to do what He asks immediately.

God desires a deeper relationship with us. A relationship where nothing is hidden, there are no secrets, only truth.  The heart of God is deep and He wants to fill the shallow places in our heart with his depth. Psalm 42:7 says, "Deep calls unto deep." Nothing shallow can touch the depths.