Seek the Lord … [for] he be not far from every one of us. – Acts 17:27
The Invitation … Focus
-Read the account of Peter’s focus on Christ in Matthew 14:22-23 and John 21:1-19.
The Journey
-Today remember to focus on Christ. Allow Him to become part of your conversations, your celebrations, your teaching moments, and your thoughts. Long to be near Him.
My Experience …
I love this story Peter. He had amazing faith in the Savior. Peter longed to be near Him. I love what the Emily Freeman wrote about this particular story. She writes the following after sharing the story of Peter walking and water and then sinking, “The important part of the story is that when Peter cried unto the Lord, Christ was there immediately. Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him. Many times we find ourselves in a similar situation. We become overwhelmed with the magnitude of the path before us. Questioning our ability to move forward, we begin doubting our ability to go on. And so the storm begins to church within. We find ourselves faltering, sinking, losing the ability to believe. We wonder if the Lord will carry us through our own raging waters, if He will stretch forth His hand and catch us. Peter’s mistake was taking his eyes off the Savior and letting the raging of the world around him become his focus. So often in the process of learning we take our eyes off the Savior. We lose sight of the goal and find ourselves focusing instead on the turmoil that surrounds us, losing faith that He is able to calm the storm.”
I find myself in this type of situation often. What I have learned over that past year though is that Christ is always there to catch me and pull me up. He never leaves me to fend for myself. I do have to ask for help though. I have learned to pray with more purpose and to trust the answers I have been given. I have learned a lot about faith and trust and I am continuing to learn to apply those principles.
Last night I was given a priesthood blessing. There was a lot of emphasis on my new found faith and how pleased my Heavenly Father is. What really got to me was that my Heavenly Father is thankful that I am allowing Him to love me. It has taken me a year to even begin to understand the love that is in store for me. I have learned to trust that love. I have learned to trust my Father in Heaven and my Savior. I know that when my storms come, they will be there to pull me up when I start to sink. They will always rescue me. I just have to stay focused on them and I know that I will be ok. The best part of knowing this is that my faith in them continues to grow. This new journey will be a wonderful reward. I look forward to it with excitement and hope.
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