Amidst the week when course syllabi suddenly present a view of a semester containing mountains of reading and assignments, one friend came and pounded on my dorm door inviting me to the beach. Despite my initial decline, her persistence led me to find myself standing on a beach where my long shadow cast by the setting sun seemed tiny in comparison to the distance of the ocean that stretched out beyond. The daunting (yet exciting) horizon of rigorous academics temporarily found its place in a bigger picture. One of my main hopes for this semester is that my academics will stay in their proper place, namely in that God is calling me to see, experience, and participate in far more this semester than just what sits on my desk. Doing so will require a prioritizing of where I invest my focus.
In Matthew 14, Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and asks to join him. Peter has initial success walking on the water by keeping his focus on Jesus. When the wind swells up, Peter loses his trust in Jesus and cries out for help. Notice that the passage does not say that the wind which challenged Peter ceased when Jesus reached out and grabbed Peter, but rather it ceased when they got back into the boat, implying that there was a time when the wind was still there while Jesus was restored as Peter’s main focus.
How does our primary focus and love influence the way we perceive and handle all areas of our lives?
Hebrews 12:1-2
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