Spiritual calisthenics, to be razor sharp--God needs sharp tools

Oh,what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is, And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win, You you'll never win"

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

Oh, what I would do to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me time and time again
"Boy you'll never win, you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth


I love this song from Casting Crowns.  It speaks to me.  There is always a contrast between faith and fear, between action and complacency, between encouragement and defeat.  But we can overcome all of these and more, because Jesus has overcome it all before us.  Let me tell you what I mean.


The story of Peter walking on the water is only found in Matthew.   Matthew 14.28-31 says:

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."  "Come," he said.  Then 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?"

You see, Peter wouldn't have left the safety of his boat unless he had seen Jesus.  Jesus was already there, walking on the water.

John 6.16-21shares this story, but only the part where Jesus was walking on the water.  John wanted to make it all about Jesus, not about Peter.  Mark 6.45-51 also shares this story, but leaves out the part about Peter walking on the water.  This is interesting to me because Peter had a lot of influence on the Gospel of Mark.  Many scholars believe that Mark based his writings on the sermons of Peter, or that Peter co-wrote the Gospel of Mark (but since Peter was an illiterate fisherman, Mark wrote it all down for him.) So when Mark wrote this based on the testimony of Peter, there is no mention of Peter walking on the water.  I'm not trying to say it didn't happen--I'm trying to say that John and Mark made this about Jesus, and His power over creation.  Matthew gave us what Paul Harvey used to call "The REST of the story."  This addition encourages us to be like Jesus in all that we do.  Even when we try the impossible.

The same thing happened in the story of David, when he killed the giant from Gath.  The Bible says that King Saul stood head and shoulders above his countrymen (I Samuel 9.2).  He was a tall man.  But when battle lines were drawn between the Israelite army and the Philistines, Saul trembled with fear at the sight of Goliath.  Seeing their leader cower in his tent, the Israelite army was also fearful.  But David came in and assessed the situation, and challenged the men of Israel to take heart.  In I Samuel 17.26, David asks, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"  Then David found the king.  "David said to Saul, 'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." (I Samuel 17.32)

David's faith did not come from boastful pride.  It did not come from an attitude of, "Look, see what I can do."  It came from the anointing of God, and the Spirit of the Lord being upon him (see I Samuel 16.13).because God had already won the battle.

Being tuned in to God's will takes work.  We can't just sit back and let God take us places that we would never go on our own.  Paul admonished young Timothy in this way:

Train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.  This is a trustworthy saying, that deserves full acceptance, and for this we labor and strive. (I Timothy 4.7b-10a)

Make Jesus your life coach.  Rather than having Jillian Michaels or Bob Harper yelling in your ear to "Reach! and Stretch!  Don't stop--you can do it!", listen to the Holy Spirit.  Don't be hearers of the Word only, but be doers of the Word as well (James 1.22).  Exercise your faith, so it can move mountains.

One of the best commercials I have ever seen is for Ace Hardware.  A fellow is looking over his To Do list, arranging his tools, and humming Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.  "Do-do-do-dooo.  Do-do-do-dooo." As the commercial goes on, he is getting the tools to complete his tasks at the hardware store.  And before the commercial is over, his humming becomes more intense.  "Done-done-done-dooone.  Done-done-done-doooone."  The point of the commercial is to use this retailer to help you get from the "To Do List" to the "Done List".  I like it because it is what God wants us to be like; to utilize the power of the Holy Spirit to do what He asks, then to look back and say, "By God's grace and through His power, it is done.  And I helped."