Seeing ghosts?

Seeing ghosts?

"Lord, if it’s You," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," He said. (Matthew 14.28,29)

The disciples were terrified in the boat because they thought they were seeing a ghost. It was night time, and all they could hear was a voice and see shadows. 

This is what fear does to you. It makes you see what is not there. And even if you see something that is actually there, it makes you sure it's something bad. 

You may never be able to avoid fear, but you can look at it in the face and say “I’m coming to meet you on the water!” Someone once said, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s action in spite of it.”

Businesspeople, for example, are risk-takers. If you are afraid to take risks, you should never go into business for yourself. Instead, you should look for a job. Obviously taking risks does not mean you will just use your money carelessly. You will seek to minimize risk but you know that you might never be able to eliminate it. Every business involves risk. And that’s why you need faith (the opposite of fear) to do it!

Peter is normally thought of, and often criticized, as the disciple who denied Jesus three times for fear of being arrested. But truth be told, he was the only disciple who had the courage to go in where Jesus was being judged. Everybody else had gone hiding! They didn’t have the guts to be there! Similarly, Peter was the only one who had the courage to step out of the boat and walk on the water to meet the "ghost".

You too should face your fears and just step out of your boat. Sure, things might go wrong at first. But even if it does, what you will learn from failure will pay off. 

Stop waiting and get moving. Chances are that the ghost you fear will turn out to be your best friend — just like Peter found out.