He is My Personal Bravery

“The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army;

 He makes my feet like hind’s feet and will make me to walk

 (not to stand in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress 

upon my high places (of trouble, suffering, or responsibility)!” 

Habakkuk 3:19 Amplified Bible

       All-powerful, Almighty God, call to us, “Come!”  You, Who spoke and everything came into being, we invite You to speak into our lives today.  And give us ears to hear the One True Voice.  Call us to come out of our comfort zones and controlling strongholds.  We confess that these thoughts that 'try to keep You controllable' are lofty things raised up against the knowledge of God; they are not truth.  Convict us and help us to take these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).  Forgive us and change us in those areas of our lives where You want to be big and mighty in us ('to walk on water'), but because of our unbelief or sin or fear, You are not able to work through us.

            We ask for your forgiveness, and we lay down all that we bow to, that is not of You- all the 'must do’s' to be worthy 'to walk on water', all of our own will, all the fears (as we look around and see the circumstances that 'feel' more real than Your truth), and all our limited expectations of what You are able to do, how You act, or how You 'should' behave.  Lord, be free to move in our lives, in Your way.

And command us to 'come to You on the water' in whatever miraculous way You have planned for each and every one of our lives. 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10

You are all-powerful.  You are able to enable me to do whatever You want 
IF I will let you, 

IF I will say ‘no’ to my own will and ‘yes’ to You, IF I will let you use me. IF I will say, 

"Yes, Lord.  For the sake of Your Name and for Your glory,

do with me whatever You want to do.  I will no longer dictate to You."

Church, let us no longer just say 'Yes', but let us DO 'YES'. 

         Do not allow the fear of what you 'can't' do (or what you want to do instead) keep you bound from obeying whatever He commands.  Hear His call and do not stand in terror, but walk on your high places, as He is your Strength, your personal bravery, and your invincible army even on those high places of trouble, suffering, or responsibility.  How many of us, and those around us, are feeling the weight of any one (or all three) of those, especially in the area of heavy responsibility?

May we see and KNOW Who He truly and fully IS.

“When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.  And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 
                                   ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” Matt. 14:32,33

Trust in the Lord

         Sadly, for most of us, if we were Peter walking on the water, the fear of what the others in the boat ‘think’ would rival the fear of the wind and the waves. 

         Don’t we step out, experience a little victory, and then find ourselves terrified as we are reminded that we CAN’T walk on water?  We begin to fear failure and concern ourselves with, or even worry about, what everyone else thinks- bad OR good.

          Are we comfortable walking on our high places, walking in the victory that we have in the power of Christ, or do we worry about how those who know us must be thinking, ‘Who do they think they are'?, 'Why do they think they’re so special to walk on water?', 
              or ‘They CAN’T do this’? 

                                And we quickly agree and begin to sink.  
What a great ploy of the enemy! May we not be unaware of his schemes. 2 Cor. 2:11

             What will it take for us to step out of the boat when He commands us to come?  And what will it take for us to KEEP WALKING in what Jesus is clearly calling us to, UNASHAMED and unfrightened by the circumstances around us and unhindered by anyone else's doubts? 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and trust in Him alone. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7

Look to Him, the author and perfector of our faith,
               and continue to walk in the victory He died to give us-  

                  walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in our flesh and its fears.

Let us not focus on what others think about us and the progress that we are making on our high places,

                            BUT may we care very much about what our Heavenly Father thinks and knows about that progress. May we listen to His truth alone and trust Him.  

Care what He thinks and knows and says is true about you, bad (what needs to be changed for your good and His glory) and good (what He says is true of you in Him).

"The fear of man brings (gives) a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted."  Proverbs 29:25

And IF it is You, ‘Command me to.........',

                 ...and You will allow me to walk on my high places.

Lord, what would YOU have me do?  You must do the calling, as I trust that with Your call comes your divine enablement.

Command Me to Come

Matthew 14:26-33

“When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’  And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” 

“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.’”

If- he is still not sure, completely convinced- so Lord, IF it is You, command me and enable me to do what only You can do!  Lord, You ask, and I will trust that you will enable me, but I’m not going to try on my own.  You make the command: “Command me to come..”

“And He said, ‘Come!’"

 And Peter was enabled to do something that he could never have done on his own.  He was able because the Lord did the bidding and Peter responded to that command.  He walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

(Our obedience to His word and His command will always take us closer to Jesus. Be careful if in anything you 'think' you are walking in obedience yet find that it is not taking you closer to Jesus' heart.)

BUT

Seeing the wind

(Oh, that 'sight' thing, taking his focus off of Jesus and putting it on the circumstances.  "..for we walk by faith, not by sight (appearance)." 2 Cor. 5:7),

he (results): - became frightened and

                    - beginning to sink,

                                          he cried out (he did the right thing!) “Lord save me!”

“Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?'”

(Right there Jesus gives us the reason Peter did not continue walking on his high places in the midst of the storm and why we sink as well:  DOUBT.)

          Lord, whatever You want me to do, command me because I know with Your command, comes Your enabling.  But do not let me step out on my own. 

 I don’t want to live a life of little faith and much doubt.  Lord make me faithful to take the steps of obedience and keep my eyes on You and not the surrounding circumstances, as they are almost always discouraging to my steps of faith.  Protect me from unbelief and doubt.

On the ground of your word, I will do as You say.  Luke 5:5 see also Excel Still More: I Will Do As You Say: Part 5

It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid

“When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’  And they cried out in fear.” Matthew 14:26

            It may not be something as dramatic as seeing Jesus walking on water, but how many times has this scene been played out in our lives.  He shows Himself BIG (bigger than the little box that we have put Him in), and we allow it to scare us.  Or He doesn’t work in our lives according to OUR plans, and it strikes terror and complete panic within us.

 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” Matthew 14:27

I must take courage and realize that even though I may not understand what He’s doing and may question His ways while I’m in the midst of fearful circumstances, He is still the same Jesus that I know and love and trust with my life and open my ears to hear Him say, ‘It is I; do not be afraid’ and take my courage from Him.