It’s a fair assumption that nearly everyone wants to be successful. There are a vast number of books written on how to have success. Ironically though, the one book that has the real key to success is often the one most overlooked and ignored.
Friends, the Bible has some very simple yet very profound truths regarding success and how to obtain it. Today we will be examining these truths, and how to apply them in our lives.
There are several accounts in the Bible which at first appear to not be related to one another, yet upon deeper reflection one will discover that actually they are very much related; in-fact they actually teach the same principles.
The first is the well known story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. Let’s read it now in Matthew 14:23-34:
“And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to 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 spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be you, bid me come to you 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 to him, O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.”
Now there are a few things here which are particularly interesting and relevant to our study. First, the initial attitude and reaction of the disciples; they were afraid when they saw Jesus walking on the water. To them this was a strange thing, and most people would probably agree, except for one thing… it’s a small thing for God to walk on the seas which He created. The disciples, upon seeing Jesus on the water, at first could not envision the reality of Jesus doing this – they reasoned in their own minds that it must be a spirit, ghost or apparition. To them, that was the more likely scenario, instead of Jesus walking on the water.
You see my friends, when we fail to comprehend the vastness of Jesus, our thinking, our reasoning and our belief becomes wrong. Had the disciples stopped for a moment and considered the divinity of Jesus, then it would have been the natural conclusion for them that Jesus was doing something perfectly normal for Him, being God.
Next are the loving words of Jesus, comforting His children who were needlessly afraid. I love His compassion, His heart. Listen to Jesus speaking those words: “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”
What a savior we have! Though He is God, He cares for us and loves us so much.
Then we have Peter, who when starting to walk on the water at the consent of Jesus had success in the beginning – then something happened. Did the power of Jesus suddenly become ineffective and Peter was no longer able to accomplish what he was previously able to? No.
What happened was Peter stopped drawing on that power. See, the power was there all the time, and was still there even while Peter was sinking, but he stopped utilizing it. This is the power of success that we are looking at here. The power to do the supernatural as Peter was doing at the start. The power to truly represent Christ in this world as we are meant to.
So how did Peter lose his connection to the power of Jesus in that moment? Let’s read our second scripture and find out. Matthew 6:25-33:
“Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?
And why take you thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say to you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Therefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What will we eat? or, What will we drink? or, Wherewithal will we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.
But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added to you”
So to sum all of this up: Do not worry about anything! Why not? Because your God is a loving Father who knows how to well care for you.
I am going to share with you a little-known “secret” that is actually plainly there in scripture. The blessings of God are always available to us all the time, but when we fail to trust in Him, an start trying to handle things ourselves with a spirit of unbelief. We actually choke-off our own blessings and power.
The blessings of God are as the shining of the sun. But our faith, our trust in Him is the window. The more we mistrust Him then the more the curtains of our window are shut and the more we miss out on.
Peter took his eyes off of Jesus while he was walking on the water, we all know that and it’s probably the most well known truth about this scripture… but why did he do it? The scripture tells us that he “saw the wind was boisterous”. Now remember what I told you earlier, when we fail to see the vastness of Jesus, our thinking and reasoning becomes wrong. Let me ask you this question: What does the wind have to do with walking on the water? Absolutely nothing! Even if the wind and the seas were at a complete calm, without the power of Christ, no-one can walk on the water.
But see, my friends, Peter started worrying, he became afraid when he took notice of the wind, and he began to reason with his natural mind instead of simply trusting his Savior.
Yet even in his failure, Jesus’ love comes through strong. Notice in Matthew 14:31 we see that Jesus immediately stretched forth His hand and rescued Peter. He could’ve let Peter sink further and say “Now look what you’ve done Peter, I will teach you a well deserved lesson. You did this to yourself you know.” But our LORD did not do that. He rescued Peter right away, and asked him a simple question: “Why did you doubt?”
See the storm is nothing to the one who made everything, and so it is for us. The storms of life are nothing compared to God. That is to say, He cares for us, and is well able to keep the storms from causing us any problems, if we would only stay fixed on Him and trust Him as little children like He wants us to.
The wind was boisterous long before Peter took notice – it didn’t bother him at the start, because Jesus was all Peter was focusing on. As a result, the power of Jesus was free to flow in Peter and he become like Jesus for that moment.
So in closing, the answer to how we can have success today: Trust in Jesus and don’t choke off His blessings for you by worrying. He wants you to live a care-free, worry-free, fear-free life in Him.
If a storm comes, or if you are in the middle of one now, the answer is to keep your eyes on the one who quiets all storms. Rest in Him and know true peace, and success.