“But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “Tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said. 

The Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the son of God.”   

                                                                                                                ~ MATTHEW 14 : 27 - 32

The minute we accept Jesus into our hearts, life becomes a fairytale. There really is a happily ever after that is guaranteed for each and every one of us at the end of the day. And it’s not just heaven. Although heaven is the last word, God promises to provide for us and lead us to the best of places. However, that does not mean that our lives will be free of struggle. In fact in order for any fairytale to truly exist there must be struggle. This aspect of struggle in our Christian lives is the one of the hardest for us to truly accept. 

Paul describes Christian living to be like running a race that has already been won for us; an endeavor where victory has been guaranteed from the start. Because of this many of us have come to believe that there is no longer the need to put any effort into our faith since we have already been assured success. In short, many of us feel as if we no longer need to run. However in order to win a race we need to come out and run it. Victory can be guaranteed to be the surest of things but if we are unwilling to put the effort into the struggles of a long grueling race we have no hope of winning anything. If we decide not to move, and sit in comfort we can only hope to lose comfortably. We cannot escape the fact that as Christians we must run after Christ, even if that means leaving our comfort zones and enduring struggle we sometimes find ourselves so desperately trying to avoid. 

One dark and stormy night not so long ago Simon Peter walked on water for the first time. He left the comfort of a small fishing boat for the uncertainty of uncharted waters that eventually lay beneath his feet as he walked. He trusted in Jesus as he chased after him and that’s when the miracle happened. He was unsinkable and victory was his. 

“If I keep my eyes on Jesus I can walk on water” Barry Blair