God Will Help You In Your Desperation

God will help you in your desperation

Matthew 14: 22-32

How many have ever been desperate? That’s what I want to talk about today, God will help you in your desperation.

First of all I want to give you the meaning of the word “desperate.”

Nearly hopeless, critical, extreme urgency, or as last resort.

A situation so serious as to be at the point of crisis or necessary to resolve a crisis.

It means urgent, despairing, frantic or distraught with fear.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of desperation?

These disciples sure did. For what began as a calm, peaceful boat ride ended up as a night of terror.

These boys were in serious trouble. A huge storm was rocking their boat. Huge, heavy waves were splashing against their vessel.

They were facing strong and fierce winds and they were relentlessly struggling to stay afloat, and they were far from land.

These guys had gotten themselves in a desperate and serious situation.

Now, as if the storm wasn’t enough, as if the ship about to sink wasn’t enough, about 3:00 in the morning, in the midst of their desperation, they saw someone walking on the surface of the water!

They were terrified, panic-stricken, filled with apprehension and fear.

They cried out, “It’s a ghost!” For they knew it was impossible for water to support the weight of a man, therefore they thought it must be a spirit.

But they had no where to run. They were trapped in the storm! They must have though, “This is the end, we are done for!”

Then Jesus spoke to them in the midst of the storm, “Don’t be afraid, take courage, it is I, or I am here.

In the midst of their desperation, Jesus came by!

Are you in a desperate situation this morning? Hold on, you’re not going to sink, you’re not going to drown, because in the darkest time of your desperation, Jesus will come on the scene.

God didn’t bring you this far to let you sink. He brought you this far to show His power to deliverance.

Then, Peter finds himself in another desperate situation. He was brave enough to ask Jesus if He would allow him to walk on the water also.

Sounds kind of fun doesn’t it. Peter was always ready to face a challenge! And this was too good to let it pass by.

Peter had never walked on the water before, this would be so cool.

Sounds exciting, to say the least. Jesus responded by saying, “come”.

Can’t you just see ole Peter very cautiously climbing out of the boat, and dipping his toe in the water?

And then, one step at a time, he is walking on the water!

Wow! Look at me fellows! I’m walking on water!

But then, all of a sudden, his human senses return to him, as he realizes he really is walking on water, and the storm is raging, and the waves are splashing against him, and the wind is blowing, he became terrified once again and took his eyes off of Jesus, who was the source of this miracle!

He began to sink into the water. Not so exciting now! He was in the middle of desperation and fear.

So he cried out, “Lord save me!”

I’m quite sure some of you here this morning have had that moment in your life when you thought you were going to sink.

You were going through a storm in your life, and you tried your very best to help yourself, but found out very quickly that you could not manage the situation you were in.

Isn’t it funny how we will try everything within reach to help in our desperation before we cry out to Jesus!

But then you finally decided to step out in faith and trust God, but the enemy sent fear and doubt, you thought you were going to sink, because even though you started out in faith, you began to focus on your situation instead of focusing upon Jesus.

And when you took your eyes off of Jesus, you had nothing to hold on to.

Listen, if you lose your faith, there is nothing to hold on to!

Peter began to sink because he took his eyes off of Jesus, and began looking at the circumstances, he became fearful, and with his eyes off Jesus, he had nothing to hold on to.

Jesus reached out and grabbed Peter, just as he was about to go under and said, “Oh thou of little faith, why did you doubt me?

You may say, “Peter had some faith, because he did walk on the water.”

You are right, he started out in faith, but he never saw it through to completion.

You may begin in faith during your desperation, but you have to keep your eyes on Jesus.