SET YOUR HOPE FULLY ON JESUS

“Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

I Peter 1:13

I am one of those people who learned her lessons the hard way.  I think that is because I always had to find out for myself whether or not things that were told to me were true.  I don’t think that is necessarily a bad trait; it’s just that I carried it a bit too far at times.  One thing I will say; when I learned things the hard way, I truly learned my lesson.

I thought about this as I read the scripture verse above.  I can identify with Peter in many ways.  Deep down he was a good guy, but he got himself into trouble a lot by being a bit too sure of himself and speaking out of that sureness.  In Matthew 14:28-33 he boldly stepped out of the boat he was in when he saw Jesus walking on the water.  He had no qualms about it until he looked around and saw the wind that was coming up hard and creating strong waves that could take him under in a heartbeat.  Then he became afraid.  Fortunately Jesus rescued him.  But he did learn an important lesson.  Keep his eyes on Jesus, not the surrounding circumstances, and he would do well. That is what he was eventually teaching others as he wrote his letters

It is a lesson I need to learn again and again.  The more I do it the better I get at it.  It is important in these days to be good at it.  There are a lot of waves surrounding me that are ready to pull me under in a heartbeat.  I need to be aware but my focus is not to be on the waves, but on Jesus, the one who is Master over them.