15/11/2024
There He was. He took a step into the water. He was walking, walking closer and closer to me. Could He be a ghost?
I heard Him call out to me. He said, “Come.” The heavy storm fuelled the high tides rocking my boat, but I did it. I took a step into the water. I was walking, walking just like Him, heading closer and closer to His call.
But I felt something. A sudden gust of wind blew right past me, and my thoughts crept in, asking, “How can this be?” Then, water started seeping into my clothes. I sank from my feet to my legs to my chest until it swallowed me whole. “Lord, save me!” I cried. I thought I was in the brim of life and death. And, in the pitfall of my desperation when all hope was lost, I saw His hand. He reached out to me right away. He caught me, and I didn’t need to try. He said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” He knew where I was and pulled me out of the water. I am now safe in His arms. (Matthew 14:22-33)
Have you ever felt like Peter? Maybe the high school students once did, facing their own storms in life. Schoolworks. Responsibilities. Expectations. Insecurities. Uncertainties. When everything comes crumbling down, how do they handle these storms? (1) Maybe, they’re like Peter in the boat, refusing to step out into the water because “I’m safe right here on the hard, solid ground.” (2) Maybe, they’re like Peter taking his first steps into the water, thinking, “Wow, I can do this on my own!” (3) Or maybe, they’re like Peter sinking, crying, “Help! I can’t get out of this mess I’m in!”
Despite these three ways of dealing with our storms, Jesus reaches His hand out to each one of us by promising the gift of everlasting life一salvation that was already paid because of His love that goes beyond all our imperfections, as long as we are willing to accept it. To the high school youth, He manifests this kind of love through college and young pro Achis and Ahias who are willing to walk through life with them together.
Last September 21, we held a special High School Badminton Day. Everyone gathered around the court and took turns to smash and serve. Along with meeting new people, playing board games, and having fruitful conversations, this fellowship bridged the gap between high school and college.
Truly God works in both the mundane and the extraordinary. Achis and Ahias were sitting right there beside the highschoolers, listening to the stories they shared and unpacked. By simply being present, it was a joy for them to witness how God works through each one of their lives.
Isn’t that a much needed breather? A Saturday devoted to rest and recreation. For once, there was no schoolwork or responsibility to worry about. It was a fun day of badminton, devotions, games, and conversations. A safe space where highschoolers can share themselves without judgment. A chance to finally sit down and talk to that familiar face we only see in church. A place where God’s family dwells and fellowships with one another. This is the church community, where He lives with love in the center of it all—a love that chooses to stay when everything is stripped away and all that’s left is the raw and broken.
Some highschoolers were urged by their parents and encouraged by their friends to come. Some Achis and Ahias only interacted with them for the first time. But there we were, wearing our sports attires, carrying our rackets to the discipleship court that Saturday. We showed up. We took the first step into our “waters.”
Dear youth, let us pray for each other. Maybe we need to take another step. To study harder. To reach out to the lost. To meet God both in the quiet and chaos. Alone, it might seem scary, but together, as a community, we can encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). Together, we can create safe spaces for each others’ waters, not to spread gossip or get the latest chika, but to know that we can trust one another and lay our burdens down, just as Christ has done for His people.
So, what waters is God asking you to walk on today? Will you walk the waters your feet fear to tread?
Written by Samantha Lee
Photos by Matt Barandino, Joanna Zapata, Grant Villamor, Dirk Tiu
