"Faith isn’t easy to have all the time and seeing God in life isn’t always warm and fuzzy. For example in Matthew Chapter 14 verses 22 to 32
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
The disciples thought Jesus was a Ghost and were terrified and sometimes God and faith can be like that. If it was so easy more people would probably believe. Believing in God is just the first step but there is always more steps to take to further your faith. Faith isn’t meant to be static.
If Peter had remained on the boat he wouldn’t have put his faith to a test and even though he doubted, he had been pushed farther in his faith to make it stronger. That’s what Lent could be for you this year. A way to push you’re faith a little farther and gain a stronger one in the end. Don’t sit on the boat this year during Lent, get out there. Don’t focus on the problems.. because that’s when you start to go under. Peter began to doubt and immediately started to sink, don’t doubt yourself in making a high goal this year during Lent.
Now in saying this, it may not be easy ... but choose something that will enhance your life spirituality and in other ways too. Don’t just choose to give up chocolate because in the end you’ve only given up eating chocolate for 40 days. Now I know that is a challenge.. and for me personally giving up chocolate would be a huge obstacle especially since it seems to be readily available everywhere I go here. But in taking a risk it would put your faith to a test and in the end you can learn more about God.
And all of us could use some encouragement during Lent.. and in this video that we will watch, I think the Kid President does a good job of reminding us to keep going even if the going gets tough. Also when watching this video think of it all in the terms of Lent... what can you do this year to make Lent awesome?
He may be young but he does have a good point. If there are two paths... which one would you rather take? Obviously the road less traveled is by far scarier because it means entering the unknown but if not taken we could be missing out on a lot.
For example, the thought of coming to another country with 7 other strangers for a whole year... away from everyone and everything I knew was incredibly daunting. But I took a leap in faith and came to Belfast despite all my worries. Since being here I have found my faith tested, challenged and definitely it has gotten stronger. If I had stayed on the “boat” and not hadn’t taken a risk coming here.. I would have missed out on so much! There may be a few instances of me sinking a bit but it is those experiences in which I gain the most from.
Lent is about the journey in preparing for Easter and that journey was not easy. What if Jesus would have quit? His path included literal thorns and rocks and yet he still kept going. And I think that’s what God is asking us to do... not to the same degree but he wants us to remember what Jesus did for all of us through Lent and the rest of the year too.
I read a devotional about a man and his wife that gave up meat for Lent as an experiment. And in the end they were surprised, they enjoyed cooking together more trying out new recipes, buying fresh produce, and felt healthier .. and still live it out to this day.
To quote it “Discovering those things that will help you heal or grow may mean setting aside other things that aren’t easy to set aside. It may not feel natural at the time. But when you do find that treasure, you’ll be surprised to find your heart, too – and the hand of God along the journey.”
So try something new during Lent this year to challenge yourself but also remember it doesn’t have to just last 40 days"
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