What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Romans 8:31
There will be occasion in our recovery when we are in crisis and feel there is no way out of it. We will be tempted to not trust God and in desperation default to old ways of thinking and behaving. While in our crisis we might not initially experience the urge to shrink back into the old ways of selfish (yes, even self-preservation behavior is at its core selfish), we can become desperate enough that we feel there are no other options.
NLX 101 recognizes that in the moment of sudden crisis when we are paralyzed by fear, it can be especially traumatic and difficult to practice the ABC steps of the new life experience. We can easily be overcome by another form of ambivalence between giving in to the fear or pressing forward in faith.
The lesson activities here focus again on the story of Peter walking on the water to Jesus in Matthew chapter 14. We often focus on the fact that, upon getting out of the boat and taking several steps by faith toward Jesus, that Peter doubted and began to sink. We tend to forget that Peter’s faith in Christ was quite impressive. Peter did indeed walk on water—an impossible feat.
Peter recognized that Jesus was doing something that was impossible for him to do. He could admit that it was outside of the realm of his own ability to walk on water. Peter shouted out to Jesus, “If it’s You, Lord, command me to walk on the water.” Peter believed that only Jesus could command the water to support his body so that he could walk on it. Jesus responded to Peter, “The water’s nice, come on in!” Peter committed to trusting Jesus. He got out of the boat and walked on the water. Peter did well trusting Jesus until he realized he was walking in the middle of the sea surrounded by waves blown about by boisterous winds, and he became overwhelmed by his circumstance and wavered in his commitment to trust Jesus to help him with his problem.
Gripped by fear and desperation, Peter dropped like a rock, but Scripture assures us that Jesus was right there to catch him. As soon as Peter began to sink he reached up and Jesus caught him. He would not let Peter drown in the crisis of his circumstance.
Recovery in the midst of your circumstances can feel like we are walking on water in order to manage. But if it’s in our own strength and not in relationship with Jesus then it’s likely we are overwhelmed and sinking, or perhaps drowning in our moment of crisis. With Christ, we have the ability—authority—in the middle of all of it to do something extraordinary. Through thought-challenging questions and discussion, NLX 101 exhorts participants to call on Jesus. Then, as He says, “Come to me,” get out of the boat that is your comfort-zone and walk on water with Jesus, even if you’re hanging on for dear life.
This lesson also takes participants through the experience of the disciples in Matthew chapter eight when they were convinced they would be overcome by another disaster on a boat and would perish while Jesus was disengaged in a sound sleep. NLX 101 participants are challenged again concerning their perceptions of God when recalling past crises when they may have feared that God was disengaged. Are they like the disciples asking their Lord, “Do even care that we are perishing?” Of course, their fear and doubt was replaced by amazement and wonder, leading to exuberant joy and celebration, when even the wind and waves were subject to the miraculous authority of Transcendent God. Participants will learn to utilize the ABC strategy for recovery even in the midst of overwhelming crisis.
We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 2 Corinthians 1:8b-10 (NLT)