Matthew 14:22-36

14:31 "Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?' "

A couple of observations: God can and will do amazing things. God can and will ask us to participate in these amazing things. The moment we begin remove our trust in God's power, we will begin to fail. God will be fast to pull us back up.

I think a lot of Christians are scared of jumping into a new ministry. When ministry needs arise, I have developed an attitude of "say yes first, ask questions later" (thanks in part to Al Kessler). This is akin to Peter walking out on the water. Now lest you begin to mock me for comparing myself to Peter, consider that I will compare myself to Peter in respect to his actions throughout this story. I have put trust elsewhere than where it belongs and began to sink.

Case in point, I teach a Sunday school class to two and three year old kids. I jumped in without thinking about whether I was the best suited person for the job, and gave it a shot. I have no qualms about this as the need was there, I was available, and God can do anything with anyone. I have, however, on occasion put my trust in my own ability to recite Bible stories and not prepared sufficiently prior to a class. And while the kids might not notice (there is a lot of lee-way with two and three year olds), I notice a difference in how I feel in my responsibility towards God to be a part of the these children's training. It feels empty and haphazard. While I have been learning that my strengths probably lie in teaching older individuals, I have learned much this year about teaching in general, and God has been quick to pick me back up.

Lord, help me to be quick to jump into Your ministry. Help me to fix my trust on You continually. Help me back up when I fail. Help me minister to Your body and for Your glory.