Shepherd Joseph Pembamoto
So many of us have subscribed to “the doctrine of I”: “I can”, “do you king”, “you go girl”, “you got this”, or even “you’ve got the strength”, and this makes us believe that we are self-sufficient because we have started looking upon ourselves for answers. Both young and old believe they can do anything with their own strength. In the book of Isaiah 14:13-14, the Bible talks about Lucifer, who, as an angel, coveted a position above that of God, tired of being in the shadows.
Reading further, He starts using the doctrine of “I will”, or “I will do”, and this marks the beginning of self-affirmation talks. Believers fail in the battle against sin, having adopted this same doctrine.
However, for as long as we rest on “I” we also embrace the limitations of mankind. The power to accomplish does not reside in the “I” but in who backs the “I”. Christ likens believers to branches who are fruitful when attached to His vine (see John 15:4). Fruitfulness starts with acknowledging God in all we do. But we forfeit it when we rely on ourselves and detach from the vine. Your effectiveness stems from God, but we relinquish it the moment we detach from Him.
Matthew 14:24-33 portrays how living outside the comfort zone helps keep our eyes on Jesus. Once we come out of our comfort zone, we stop looking at ourselves and start looking at God. The Israelites left Egypt, where they relied on themselves, through their labour. But in the wilderness, the Israelites could not eat from their sweat, and that forced them to look at God. Likewise, the disciples on the boat had to understand that with Christ in it, their safety was assured; not in the trust they may have placed in the vessel. The comfort we rely on fades away but God’s help is sure and everlasting.
God is not expecting us to swim like everybody else; instead, He is calling us to walk on water like Peter, above the storm we face, going from victims to victors. The experience of Peter teaches us that for every season, sunshine or rain, there is a Word of instruction. In order to experience the supernatural in our lives this season, we need to be hungry and desire a word from God! We need to be a generation of people who are hungry for God.
We need to understand that as we live in our testimony and purpose, this does not stop life from happening because life will still happen. Yet it is in those moments that our trust in God is tested. Peter was able to walk on water because his focus was on God; Jesus Christ, aware of the strong wind blowing, still told Peter to walk on water, teaching us that God is not ignorant of our environment or the dire state of our situation. He chooses to call us while knowledgeable of the circumstances.
Tough moments in our lives tend to take our focus away from God. The problem preoccupies us so much that we forget the fourth man in the fire with us – Jesus Christ. Keeping our eyes on Jesus is not easy but irrespective of where we find ourselves, we need to remember that the One in us is greater than the one who is in the world. We reap the full benefit of redemption when we keep our focus on Christ.
The reason why so many of us fail to experience the fullness of God is because we keep our focus on Jesus but occasionally also keep our eyes on something else. Once we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, we experience supernatural solutions. We foster a character of excellence, and Christ is our source for it. He sets us apart in the face of challenges, because we become the solution. Our lives become a testimony because everything we do will be for the glory of God.
This is why we need to hunger for a shift in our minds, giving us hope in choosing to look at Christ. What we are experiencing is real, but our God is more real. The God that we serve is able to intervene for us (Jeremiah 29:11). He is not a liar about His promises. Regardless of what our situation looks like, He still has a plan. The problem is an opportunity to see God. When we cry out to Him, He does not shun us, but He draws us near Him.
