The Bible sets forth Jesus as: "Upholding all things by the word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3)
That word not only has power to uphold, but "is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." (Acts 20:32)
An instance of the upholding power of Christ's word is given in: "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be You, bid me come unto You on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O You of little faith, wherefore did You doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased." (Matthew 14:25-32)
The disciples were on the raging sea, when they were astonished by the appearance of Jesus walking on the water. When Jesus reassured them with, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid," (Matthew 14:27)
Peter said, "Lord, if it be You, bid me come unto You on the water. And He said unto him, Come." (Matthew 14:28-29)
Peter at once responded to the word "Come," and "walked on the water to go to Jesus." (Matthew 14:29)
Some might hastily suppose that it was the water that held Peter up; but a little reflection will show that it was not so. It is contrary to nature for water to hold a man up; and, moreover, we read that when Peter "saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning tosink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me." (Matthew 14:30)
Jesus caught him, saying, "O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31)
If it had been the water that was supporting him, he would not have begun to sink; for the water was just the same where he sunk as it was where he walked. So when we remember the words of Jesus, "Wherefore did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31) we know that when Peter walked on the water, it was the word of Jesus that supported him. It was the word "Come" that brought him, and it was only when he distrusted that word that he began to go down.
The same word that held Peter on the top of the water, can hold a man up in the air. Elijah and Elisha were at one time walking along together when Elijah began to rise in the air. Why was it? Because the Lord had said to Elijah, "Come;" and since the prophet had always obeyed the word of the Lord, he obeyed that one also.
We read that: "By faith Enoch was translated." (Hebrews 11:5)
But, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
So it was the word of the Lord that took Enoch as well as Elijah through the air to meet the Lord. But they were only forerunners of those who, being alive when the Lord descends "from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise," (1 Thessalonians 4:16) they shall be "caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
What is it that will support those favored ones, and hold them up in the air? The same word that upheld Peter on the water. The Lord will say, "Come, you blessed of my Father." (Matthew 25:34)
Those who have been accustomed to obey the word of the Lord, will respond at once, and will be taken; while those who have not obeyed every word of the Lord, will not obey that one, and will be left.
Those who have neglected to take the word of the Lord as applying to them personally, will not accept that word, "Come," as applying to them. Only those who recognize that every time the Lord speaks, He speaks to them, will be able to take that word to themselves.
The waiting ones will be those who have lived on the word of the Lord, so that at the word "Come," they will, as the most natural thing in the world, go to meet the Lord. Happy are they who know the sustaining power of the word, and to take it unto themselves.--Present Truth, January 23, 1896--Timeline: IV-39 (Jesus Walks on the Lake) --Matthew 14:25-32.