“When evening came on, His disciples went down to the Lake. There they got on board a boat, and pushed off to cross the Lake to Capernaum. By this time it had become dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. The Lake also was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. When, however, they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water and coming near the boat. They were terrified; but He called to them. ‘It is I,’ He said, ‘do not be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take Him on board; and in a moment the boat reached the shore at the point to which they were going” (John 6:16-21, Weymouth).
Sometimes our lives seem just like the disciples in their Sea of Galilee experience. We have a dream, a vision, or an objective but we don’t feel like we are making much progress. Darkness has set in and the path seems unclear and confusing. God seems distant even though we know that the Scripture says he never leaves us. Like the boat on the lake, strong winds of spiritual turbulence are blowing kicking up opposition and hindrances. Circumstances like rough waves one after the other are marshaled against us. Yet, what do we do? Like the disciples who traveled four miles to the middle of the lake, we have gone to far to turn back now. Just like the disciples, the spirit of fear is trying to move in to make the kill by telling us that God’s Word will not work for us, or that we are not going to get to our destination, or that the dream is dead.
The Scripture shows us that we can experience an altogether different outcome if we will apply some simple truths in the midst of our challenge. First, acknowledge him. Jesus said, “It is I,” to remind us that he has not abandoned us. Second, stop the fear. We have not been given the spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). He boldly challenges us to trust him and come back to faith. Finally take him in. The Scripture teaches that the disciples agreed to let him in the boat. We need to agree to let him in the middle of our situation as well.
What happens next in this story is nothing short of amazing. John 6:21 says that “in a moment the boat reached the shore at the point to which they were going.” For years I’ve read that story to mean that they just sort of continued with Jesus in the boat rowing four more miles to the other side of the lake. But that’s not what the Scripture says. The Bible says (and backed by every major translation) that “in a moment” they made it to the other side. The NIV, KJV, and the NLT all say they made it “immediately” (the NLT placing an exclamation point for emphasis). The NCV declares they got there “at once.” The Message paraphrase says, “So they took him on board. In no time they reached land-the exact spot they were headed to.”
The Lord released what I have come to know as an “anointing of acceleration” in this situation to let us know that time is subject to him but he is not subject to time. I heard this phrase in my spirit many years ago when the Lord spoke to me about pouring out an anointing on my life that would bring acceleration or the speeding up of things that seemed to drag on or were slow to manifest. During the Pensacola revival back in 1995 the man of God hosting the meetings prophesied to me these words: “your life has been like a rubber band stretching out and then snapping back into place, but now it will be like a catapult covering a lot of ground very quickly.” To accelerate means to cause faster progress, development, advancement, or hastening. It means to change the velocity or rate of motion. It also means to reduce the time normally required for a certain activity.
Maybe you can relate to the feeling of pushing forward and then getting nowhere (just like the disciples), but I want you to know that the anointed one has a special ability to accelerate your life, your dreams, and your ministry just like he brought that boat the distance of four miles in a moment. Be encouraged that the anointing of acceleration is real and we will all see its full force and effect either by way of rapture or resurrection (“in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye”), but we don’t have to wait until then to experience a taste of it. Jesus employed this anointing for the purposes of accomplishing his will in the earth. It’s important to remember what this supernatural anointing can accomplish in your life. First, it will speed up your progress. Second, it will bring you to the exact place the Lord wants you to be (better than the best GPS system for accuracy). Finally, the anointing of acceleration will definitely make up for all that time lost in that “middle of the lake experience” where the darkness, sense of abandonment, opposition, circumstances, and fear tried to hold you back.
artheinz.com 