Matt 14:22-33
22-23 As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.
24-26 Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.
27 But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
28 Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”
29-30 He said, “Come ahead.”
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
31 Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”
32-33 The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
This picture is supposed to represent Matt 14:22-33. What does it represent to you? To me, it represents times that I felt like I was drowning and Christ was there to pull me out of the water. There have been three times recently where I have felt like I was drowning.
It started at training camp. I had been drowning in guilt, shame, unworthiness, soul ties, rejection, and hurt. Like in my previous blog, I had mentioned how God healed me from all of that. All during training camp, I was so wrapped up in everything that I was drowning in that I had a hard time reaching out to Christ to save me from it. Finally, halfway through the week, I was so deep in the water I started reaching up to let Him pull me out. When I see the picture above, I think about how God whipped away everything that was drowning me and saved me from it.
The next experience I had where I felt like I was drowning was during the whole month of November. As many of you know, every dollar donated to my trip during November was matched. I started out the month very enthusiastic about it. Then, when donations started getting slow, I started getting nervous and feeling like I wasn’t going to make my financial deadline. I remember even telling my close friends that I didn’t think I was going to make it. I remember it coming to the last two days of November. I was laying down in my bed and I remember praying out loud. I prayed “God, right now I don’t know what to do. I am not going to make my fundraising goal. I am giving this all up to you. I know that without you, I wont be able to accomplish anything. I know you can and will provide overnight.” I finally fell asleep and the next day when I woke up I saw that people had donated. By the end of the day, I had received not only what I needed, but way more. God had pulled me out of that water and provided for me again.
The last and most recent experience I had was on Tuesday when I was trying to make an appointment to get my yellow fever vaccination. Everywhere I looked, the vaccine had run out. Again, I started freaking out and was drowning in the thought of not being able to go on the Race just because I couldn’t get it in time. I was really struggling. I had made calls to my mom, mentor, and my sister about it. I asked my friends to be praying for me. They all were praying. My sister told me to put a status up on Facebook to have my donors pray for me. I then had two people privately message me and referenced a place to call. I called them hoping this was it. The receptionist told me that they didn’t see adults. I was crushed. I told the people who had messaged me and they both called the doctor’s office. The next thing I know, the doctor called me to tell me that they had yellow fever vaccinations and that they saw adults for vaccinations! My prayer was instantly answered. Not only did God answer my prayer, but also I was able to get the vaccination in the same day!
I just wanted to take a moment and share with you what that picture means to me. It’s so hard to have faith sometimes and reach up to let Christ save me, but He has never failed me. Even in the moments where I have even the slightest faith.
Thank you so much for reading and a HUGE thank you to those who have either donated or prayed for me every step of the way!!!!
Grace and Peace,
Victoria Finlay
