In this program, Joni explains how NASCAR drivers and the Apostle Peter have something in common. When you feel like you’re sinking in fear, fix your eyes on Jesus – that is the surest way to float in His hope and strength.
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SHAUNA: I’m Shauna with Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Thank you for joining us. Joni, I was recently reading in the Gospel of Matthew and came across the familiar story about Peter walking on the water. It’s amazing to picture, but Matthew 14:29-31 clearly describes the scene. It says, “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.” Joni, I’ve heard you talk about how much this passage means to you personally.
JONI: Oh, it really does, Shauna.
SHAUNA: Would you share a little bit about it right now with our listeners?
JONI: Well, I do love the passage, for so many reasons. For one thing, it includes probably the shortest prayer in the whole Bible, right?
SHAUNA AND JONI: “Lord, save me!”
JONI: And often, I am so overwhelmed by pain, I get so tired of all my disability routines that hardly ever vary, I’m so weary, I could only lift my head and pray, “Lord, save me!” And I can tell, I can feel when I am voicing that prayer in faith – you know what I mean, right?
SHAUNA: Yes, Joni.
JONI: Believing that it’s sincere and that God will hear me.
SHAUNA: I agree wholeheartedly: It’s not how many words are in your prayer; it’s if you’re asking in faith.
JONI: That’s right.
SHAUNA: And I’ve done that in my own hardships. But, Joni, I know there are other things that you’ve picked out of the story of Peter walking on the water.
JONI: Well, Peter was doing just fine until a strong wind distracted him. It was enough to take his eyes off Jesus and in a panic, he looked down at his fearsome situation: He was probably terrified to see his feet standing on a wave, and so, he started to sink and then he cried out, “Lord, save me!” It’s a lesson, isn’t it? Don’t focus on your situation, focus on Jesus. And here’s a great illustration of what I’m talking about. My friend Dan; he’s a race car driver. And the last time we met, he told me about a terrible accident in which a NASCAR legend was killed. The driver’s car had been in first place. Then it was slightly bumped. The driver overcorrected and then, in an instant, he crashed into the wall. I asked Dan if that kind of thing happens often on the racing circuit, and he told me, “Oh, yes. A car gets into a spin, gets bumped, and the driver sees that wall coming! And there is one thing that they’re supposed to be trained to do. They must not look at that wall. The training tells them to keep their eyes on the track, and steer out of that spin. If they look at the wall, they’ll freeze. Your body just reacts—you can’t help it. The answer is to concentrate every nerve on steering toward that open space.”
You know, I share this story [and I think it is the Apostle Peter’s story, too], I offer it up because I experience an unusual amount of pain, I feel like I’m looking at the wall. Like, it’s not going to get easier, Joni. Old age is coming faster than you realize, and boy, you’d better brace for an impact. And with that fear, I freeze up, I start worrying about my age, and the future and its problems rather than enjoying the present and its opportunities. The answer – to do what Peter did. I fix my eyes back on Jesus and I cry out, “Lord, save me!”
SHAUNA: Oh, Joni, I think we all struggle with staring at our problems [at our wall], and we need to get our focus back on the only one who can save us.
JONI: That’s right.
SHAUNA: And Joni, those are hope-filled words for race car drivers and the rest of us!
© Joni and Friends