Jesus Save Me.   Yes, Jesus save me.  From worry.  From debt.  From disappointment. From sickness.   Jesus save me from so many things trying to pull us down under the waves of fear.   Sometimes, just staying afloat takes all the energy we have as we struggle for every. . . single. . . breath.  Feeling hopeless and struggling to survive can feel a lot like drowning.

If you’ve ever had a near-drowning experience, you know what I’m talking about.  In fact, there are some moments in life that you’ll remember forever – even if you try to forget them.

One moment happened when I was 14 years old and playing in a river with my friends. We splashed on the mostly sandy river bottom until I lost my footing. Suddenly I found myself bobbing down the river toward a swirling eddy of ever deepening water. I remember screaming and frantically waving my arms because I sure could not swim. I hate to say that my moment of drowning only lasted for a few seconds because to me it was forever times a thousand. All the details became blurry when suddenly another boy grabbed me from behind and pulled me out of that wet grave.

Fast forward 30 years and I’m still scared of water. I always will be. I read a survey that said almost half of the people in America are afraid of the deep end of the pool and 4000 people a year die from drowning just in the United States. So with all this fear of drowning in mind, imagine how Peter must have felt when he started to drown, and Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to walk back to the safety of the boat. Can we even begin to conceive the trembling, overwhelming fear and awe that must have filled the air at that moment of rescue?

We’ve all had horrible, long and unforgettable moments when we have felt like we were drowning in debt, worry or loneliness. But here comes Jesus to the rescue! He is the breath we breathe. The air instead of water inside our lungs. The light of the world after the darkness! And in the very end, when we are truly all alone and ready to die to this earth, who will be there to rescue us again, but Jesus. He will hold up our hands and walk across the water with us to bring us into the glory of eternal life with him. If you close your eyes right now, you can know he is with you. He’s holding you right now – facing you with his right hand holding yours. And he promised, “I will be with you, even to the end of time.” Matthew 28:20 We never need to be afraid again. Jesus is our rescuer.