The bad news is you won’t! The good news is He won’t let you down.
You of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:31)
Have you ever felt low and ashamed immediately after a high achievement? It’s a weird feeling of discouragement that no one can explain in words. Almost the entire memory of your recent high will be masked in shame and embarrassment. We all go through this experience at some point in our life. Peter in the new testament is one of the best example who has gone through this experience. One day he received a great promise and praise from the Lord Jesus himself. Jesus said to Peter,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
But immediately after this experience Peter received one of the harshest rebuke the Lord has ever given. The bible says,“Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
What would have gone through Peter’s mind after this experience? He would have got discouraged and questioned himself whether he is the right person for the job. He would have questioned the promise he received from the Lord days before he received this rebuke. He would have asked “did the Lord mistakenly gave this promise? I am so weak and fickle. Will I really make it and live up to the mark?”. May be you are going through the same experience and asking the Lord “Will I make it?”. The bad news is you won’t! The good news is He won’t let you down!
Always remember when you fall short, sometimes God will rebuke you. It doesn’t mean he will let you down and leave you there. When God rebukes you, you better behave and make things right. It’s a warning that you need to make some adjustments in your life so that you can live for the calling you received. God will rebuke you but it doesn’t prevent God from reaching out for you. When you fall short he will reach out to you.
I enjoy playing football with my 2 year old son. I love to see those tiny feet hitting the ball with all might but the ball won’t go anywhere nearer the goal. Sometimes I notice disappointment in my son’s eyes that he couldn’t hit as far as the goal. I will see frustration in his eyes. So the next time when he kicks the ball with frustration I will immediately jump and bring the goal posts closer to where he hits the ball and shout in excitement. My son will immediately think he kicked the ball inside the goal and will start to celebrate with me. Words cannot express the excitement and sense of achievement in my son’s eyes. Even though my son fell short I reached out and brought the goals closer to where he hit.
That’s what happened when Peter tried to walk on water. The bible says, “So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came TO JESUS.”. His goal was to reach the place where Jesus was. Peter made a great achievement as he started to walk on water. But immediately after this high note he reached the lowest point as he began to “sink”. His friends in the boat would have asked each other “Will he make it?”. Have you reached this lowest point in your life? Are you asking yourself “Will I ever make it?” Peter fell short and started to sink. He didn’t reach the place where Jesus was. But the good news is Jesus reached out to him! He moved the goalposts closer to where Peter was. He caught him. The finish line came closer.
It’s better to try and make a mistake than not to try in fear of making mistakes. God wants you to try. God wants you to walk on water and doesn’t matter if you fall short. God wants you to hit the ball. He will take care of the remaining job. Your mistakes are not a surprise to God. So next time when you ask the question “Will I make it?”, remember, the answer is “No but He will do it for you!”.
(This article is written by Bro. Davidson Samuel who is an IT Professional / Subject Matter Expert in Banking domain, based out of Scotland, UK)
So much applicable for the workplace and it was timely!!! Thanks for sharing.
With the gloomy economic situation with reduced opportunities abroad, the workplace politics is out of control that is threatening like sinking… Thanks for the timely encouragement…”The good news is He won’t let you down”
Really a heart touching message. God bless you brother.