Be surprised. It was not Peter.
I always thought of how Peter, or rather, the body of Peter responded to Jesus saying one word, “Come!” And the body of Peter merely got down the boat, while its back was facing the voice of Jesus, and stepped onto the surface of the water in the midst of the sound of the wind and the raging water.
Was it Peter who heard the sound of Jesus and responded with his mind to process and reason the meaning and validity, and then decided that the odds outweighed the risk, and then mustered his faith to rise to a point where his fear was outnumbered? No, this explanation could not convince me.
I have previously been taught that it was the mind part of our soul, that blocked the working of the spirit, our born again spirit, which is joined to God’s Spirit and which enabled us to work miracle. That is the belief of many Christians.
Recently I attended a healing conference and listened to ten speakers who have been healed of years of serious, even life threatening diseases, physical and mental. Each of them came with a refreshing perspective of their own personal encounter with the Lord, through His written words, His voice speaking to them through the teachings of others or directly in the promptings of their hearts , visions, and signs and wonders of the Lord’s presence in the Spirit.
One thing that stands out to me is their relationship with the Lord. All of them assured us that it is simple and not complicated to have a Father-children relationship with the Lord, and to receive the healings from Him. I believe and agree to this.
For everyone who believes that God is Who He says He is, in the many names He calls Himself, as written in the Bible and in the testimonies of many life witnesses past and present, yes, we believe God is not complicated. He means what He says. He does not change. He is a living God right now in us.
So, coming back to the historical record of Peter’s body standing on the surface of the water and walking on it, I asked the Lord how could this be applied to my life while meditating on this truth after I listened to the speakers.
Then it dawned on me, just as Peter has urged us to expect this to happen when we really pay attention to what the Word is saying to us. “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;” (2 Peter 1:19)
I realized, in my heart, that God talks to my body. It is my body (which is formed of particles, and even the tiniest quarks without forms) that can listen and respond to God’s words. That makes it easy for Peter and for me too to respond to healing verses when they are read and spoken verbally. The sound of Jesus’ voice, speaking to us through whatever means, makes the crucial switch, from the seen impossible realm to the unseen impossible realm. It manifests in the physical body because our body is the one that can take action. Without a body, the word remains as a spirit.
Our body is programmed to hear God’s words and respond automatically, because He is the Creator of our body. So why are not everyone healed? Just as many Bible teachers have taught, the mind blocks the body from responding to God’s perfect “autoimmune” system. Paul has warned us against the works in the mind that do this damage to the body, and he also gave the one and only effective solution.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Peter was known for his quickness in response. His body responded to the Lord’s words faster than all the other disciples did. In the case of getting off the boat, standing on the water, turning to face the Lord, and walking towards Him, indeed his body acted supernaturally and perfectly in its action. It was effective until Peter’s mind caught up.
Here is a verse quoted regularly about what to do with our mind:
Isaiah 26:3-4 3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.4 Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah the Lord, is everlasting strength.
The Hebrew word “YETSER,” which was translated “mind” here, means “conception” and “imagination”. We can value something so much that we think of it day and night, and engrave an image of it even in our mind. In Joshua’s time there was only the teachings (ordinances/laws)revealed to Moses who duly recorded them in writings. The Lord commanded Joshua to speak them, meditate those words day and night and never depart from them, so that he could observe to apply all, and have good success and be prosperous in everything he did. Remember, that was the beginning of Joshua’s conquest of the promised land leading at least two millions of God’s people to take back their homeland from the aliens.
Joshua 1:8 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Joshua needed supernatural courage and strength. And the Lord has given both in His words.
Peter, too, needed supernatural courage and strength to live his life after Jesus ascended to heaven. What did the walking on water incident prove? It proved to Peter once for all he could do the supernatural without effort. His body can just respond. So will his mind follow if he stayed his mind on the Lord all the time. Back to the boat incident, I believe Peter was thinking of Jesus, whom he trusted and loved and obeyed wholeheartedly, meditating on what Jesus has said and taught them, every word, all the time, even though he could not understand a lot of the deeper things, without the indwelling Holy Spirit then.
That was why, when Jesus showed up on the surface of the water, Peter’s first response was that was the safest place to get to, be with Jesus! His body agreed. At the word of Jesus, the body automatically responded to the voice of Jesus, “Come!” And the rest is history.
We all have a watershed point of no return. It takes a lifetime to condition our heart and our body to be in tune to the Lord’s voice. Is it hard? Listening to the ten speakers who brought good news about healing of our body is one way to tune up our body to Gods words and His immune system. I have to remind myself that like Paul has said and encouraged us not to give up or be distracted, interestingly, in his letter to the Philippians while in prison, and all three verses were arranged by later Bible compilers in the13th position in each chapter:
2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (laid hold of it); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians
How does God work in us to ensure we will and can do for His pleasure? He put Hi life in us. He speaks to us. Our body can hear and obey Him. He speaks through His words most time. Christ gives us His strength (His Spirit, His name, His words).
Our mind can be harnessed. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
This is the Word today from Paul in the prison cell, to the many out there, who are looking at the circumstances and analyzing with their mind.
2 Timothy 1:6-8 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (There is a Power to be used effectively, God’s way, that is, through the life of God in you. )
Not Ashamed of the Gospel
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, (do not be guilt-ridden or blame-focused, it will not get you better. What we all need is to read the letters of the Apostles, Paul’s, Peter’s, John’s, and emulate their way of handling setbacks with positive expectation for the good, staying our mind/heart on the Lord God who is good and worthy and faithful to His words. )
καί notes 2022-11-16
