Walking with Jesus

Matthew 14:28 “Lord if it is You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.” 

​Read Matt 14:22-33

     Did you ever notice in this account that when Jesus told Peter to come out of the safety of the boat to walk on the water, He did not calm the waves or wind? Jesus wanted Peter to be willing to come to Him in the current circumstances. Jesus did not change what was going on in Peter’s life. He did not make things easier for him. The winds are buffeting the boat. The waves are surely washing over the sides of the boat. All the disciples are ‘terrified’ by what they are seeing. They are probably cowering in the deepest reaches of the boat to get away from the ‘ghost’. They are definitely not demonstrating deep, mature Christian faith. These are mature, adult men ‘crying out in fear’.                                                                                                                       Peter tends to get a bad rap for allowing fear and doubt to make him sink into the waves of circumstances but let’s look at a bigger picture. He’s the only one brave enough or maybe foolish enough, to take that step out of the boat. He wants to be where Jesus is and a few waves and some hard winds aren’t going to stop him.                                                                                                                      
      There is one thing that we can count on. It is that no matter what the situations in our lives, God is always with us. When we step out of the boat of relative safety and walk on the waters of faith or stay in the boat, the Lover of our souls will always be there for us. When we falter in our faith or take our eyes off of our Lord and start to sink, He will reach out His hand and catch us. He won’t allow us to get in over our heads. While it may feel like that for a while, rest assured, He has it all under control.              

      Jesus has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He makes a way for us in all situations. He stands ready to lift us above the waves of pain or fear or confusion. While He may not take us out of the storms of our lives, He never leaves us alone in those storms.                                                                                                
      John 17:15 tells us that when Jesus prayed for His people, He did not ask the Father to take us out of the world but to protect us from the evil one. Right before Jesus is arrested, He prays for Himself then His disciples and then for all believers. He tells the Father that He is in the Father just as the Father is in Him and They are in us. We can’t be alone in the storms of our lives if we are in such great Company. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit in us and we in them is a powerful team. We can therefore, step out of the boat, trusting Jesus to hold out His hand to us. All we need to do is reach out in faith and take hold of Him. He is, after all, the Creator Who loves us