Have you ever seen someone try to stand up inside a kayak? It usually ends with them toppling into the water!

We know that because the ocean is constantly moving, and the flotation devices we use are not always predictable. Jesus walked on water because he is the Son of God. He didn’t need something extra. Our foundation, our trust in shifting times and seasons, must be placed on Jesus alone.

In Matthew 7:24–25 (NIV), we read, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

How easy it is to place our faith in the ‘flotation devices’ of the world—the things that may seem to help us more easily in times of uncertainty, whether it is our money, our friendships or our own talents.

Our Self-Denial season is a time where we take a significant portion of what we think helps us ‘float’ and offer it up to God. It is a sacrifice that says, “Will you help me walk on water instead?”

In Sri Lanka there is a water and well project in the Polonnaruwa District. This is helping local communities access safe, clean drinking water through a well and water filtration plant—something most of us often take for granted. We can turn on taps and rarely worry about what flows out. But this everyday miracle is a privilege many in Sri Lanka do not share.

Apostle Paul writes: “I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:18–19, NIV).

This is a picture of sacrificial giving—people offering what they could, trusting that any need created by that sacrifice would be held by God.

Jesus Christ is a worker of miracles. He asked Peter to step out in faith onto the water, and he is still asking us to trust him boldly today. Because of him, we can stand firm even when everything else feels unstable. He is the foundation of our lives, and in him we find a home that will always stand. Jesus turns raging waters into a pathway that leads us back to himself.

• What makes it hard to give sacrificially, if you are honest?
• How might God be asking you, motivated by love, to respond to today’s message?
• How can you tell your foundation is Jesus?
• What things do you still feel uncertain about?

Dear Lord Jesus, please help us to hear your call clearly, as you beckon us to step out into freedom and into your blessing. Help us to stand firm even when all else seems choppy, because you supernaturally calm the waves. Help us to be certain of your command as we enter into our season of Self-Denial.

Amen.