Hear The Call

In the last two messages, we've considered Peter as he responded to
Jesus' call: "Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the
water and came toward Jesus" (Matthew 14:29). We saw that Peter
needed great faith to step out of the boat, even though his faith
quickly faded "when he saw the wind" (Matthew 14:30). But we also
saw that before Peter could even get out of the boat, he first needed
to hear and recognize the clear call of God; "Lord, if it is You,
tell me to come to You on the water" (Matthew 14:28).

It wasn't faith alone which allowed Peter to walk on the water, he
had to apply his faith to Jesus' call. It was Jesus who provided a
firm foundation under Peter's feet as he stepped. Peter wasn't
specially gifted at water walking - he simply heard the call and
obeyed in faith.

If Peter would have sailed to the exact same spot the following day
and stepped out of the boat without being called, he would have sunk
like a heavy stone - guaranteed! Peter could not have commanded the
water to hold nor "claimed" a solid foundation for His feet. His
faith would not have kept him on top of the water for even a fraction
of a second. His "success" on the water was not due as much to the
magnitude of his faith as it was to properly hearing and then
applying his faith to the call of Jesus.

John 10:27
"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me."

We seem to spend much of our life wandering without direction, but
it's God's desire that we follow closely after His Son; "He goes on
ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice"
(John 10:4). Do we really know His voice? How often do we set aside
time to listen? If we only occasionally listen to the voice of our
Lord, how will we even recognize His call? We live in a world so
filled with distractions that we must not wait until the crisis of a
storm. If we haven't learned to filter out the competing noises of
the world, God's call will be lost in the crashing waves.

We must spend time away from the "noise" where we can be alone with
God and learn to recognize His voice. We must establish times of
quiet to read His Word and talk with Him in prayer; "Sanctify them by
the truth; Your Word is truth" (John 17:17). As we meditate on the
truth of His Word and pray for understanding, our Spiritual filter
will become tuned. Then, when we enter a storm, the noise may still
surround us, but our filter will only allow a single voice to enter.

Let's develop the discipline of listening along with the Spiritual
ability to filter and recognize the voice of God. Our faith will be
enough to respond - strong enough to step - but we must first be able
to hear the call.

Have a Great Day!

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries

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Scripture references: The Holy Bible: New International Version.
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Lorena, TX 76655
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