Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:22-23
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Matthew 14 records one of the most beautiful stories in the entire New Testament: Jesus walks on water. And so does Peter (at least for a little bit).
In the middle of a storm, Peter steps out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus who invited him to come. Despite the raging winds and crashing waves, Peter was victorious.
But at some point, Peter lost focus on who was holding him. He saw the wind, the ferocious waves, the crashing thunder, and doubt crept in—he started to sink. In the middle of maybe the most exciting thing he had ever done, he began to doubt the power of Jesus!
Isn’t that unbelievable?
Actually, maybe not.
We see it in our own lives all too often.
It’s frighteningly easy for us to forget the power of God. We probably do it more than we think or would ever like to admit.
Isn’t it interesting how quickly we can forget the faithfulness and the power of God we have seen him accomplish in the past? The miracles, the answered prayers, the times He carried us through the storms of life… the power and love he displayed in forgiving us through faith in His Son.
And yet, when faced with new challenges, we sometimes let fear and doubt cloud our faith.
Just think about the last 10 hours in Peter’s life: witnessing the feeding of 5,000, seeing Jesus walk on water, and then having the courage to step out and walk on water himself. Despite all these miraculous events, in that one moment of fear, he forgot the power of God.
And it’s no different for us. We might have experienced God’s faithfulness in the past, seen Him move mountains, and felt His presence in our lives—sometimes only yesterday! But when a new storm approaches or He places a new call on our lives, we can easily lose sight of His power and give in to doubt.
But this truth remains: Jesus is always present, always faithful, always powerful enough to do more than we can think or imagine.
He reached out and caught Peter when he started to sink, and He does the same for us.
That is why the disciplined pursuit of God is so important—and why it must be a daily practice. Our tendency to forget and lose focus is why church is important, the Word is important, prayer is important, worship is important. Not just once/week… and not just at some point in the past when we used to do those things… but every single day.
The storms of life will always come, but we can navigate them with faith and confidence when our focus remains on Jesus.
So let’s keep our eyes on Him. Reflecting on His work in the past and his power for today. The world needs us.
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Prayer
Heavenly Father, my need is you. Help me to see, more and more, your power and faithfulness surrounding me each day. And though the storms of life may rage, may I never lose sight of your love and presence. Amen.