Matthew 14: 24-34 NLT
Jesus Walks on the Sea
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt me?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
God is truly amazing and genius in how lessons he taught then are so important for us now. He knew then, where we would be today and the encouragement we would need. He is fighting for us and wants us to stay focused on the truth of who he is and who we are to him. This passage is an example of ways we conform to this world, and limit who God is and what he can do for us and through us. Jesus walking on water and how the disciples initially react, shows their lack of understanding and the limits they put on what they were witnessing. This reaction is one that many people still have when it comes to their belief in who all Jesus was and is. They don’t allow themselves to open their mind passed what this world tells us is possible. The disciples became fearful of what they thought they saw until Jesus reassured them.
Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Jesus then tells them to have courage and that it is him. Peters idea to have Jesus ask him to come to him, has to come from a place of strong faith of knowing who Jesus was and is. You wouldn’t ask unless you knew you could. I like to wonder if I had been in that boat and after just seeing Jesus on the water, would the first thing I said be, “ask me to walk to you”. Then when he was asked, Peter stepped out and walked on the water. It doesn’t say he hesitated or questioned himself or Jesus. Peter was willing but being willing and following through requires more and he had that kind of faith. Jesus walking on the water was a big deal but then for Peter to as well, is essential for our learning. 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight. Peter started to sink not by anything Jesus had done, but because he had shifted his focus. Peter looked at the wind and allowed his fear and doubt to become stronger than his faith in Jesus. This passage is trying to show us what we can do if we hold onto our faith and trust in Jesus, no matter how turbulent our life will get. To stay focused on him during our times of uncertainty or when the waves of life keep coming at us so quickly, we can’t catch our breath. To not doubt for a second and to not sway with the waves. To stand firmly on faith and trust, above the turmoil, by keeping your thoughts on the Lord. There is a message of maturity in faith in this verse, and I believe Jesus is helping us with that. Another message is, that in the moments of weakness and when we can not do it ourselves, if we cry out to Jesus, he will help us. He will walk with us and he will lift us up, wherever we are.
Ephesians 4:14-16
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and grown and full of love.
What I love most about this passage is when Peter began to sink and cried out, it says immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. Not, he took a moment, or just reached out. He IMMEDIATELY reached out his hand and caught him. This part of the story gets me emotional. When I was little, my family and I went on a canoe trip with a big group of people. At one point, we stopped in an area that was deep enough for people to jump off a cliff into the water. Due to our age, my sister and I stayed near the edge. As we were walking, the ground gave away underneath me and I went under the water. I did not have a life jacket on, or could swim very well. The answers to why I had no life vest, I do not have. Anyway, I remember clear as can be the water flowing over my face and looking up at my sister and reaching for her hand to save me. I remember seeing my sisters face as she reached down to grab my hand and pull me out. The moment felt much longer than it was but the emotion on her face, I can’t forget. When you love someone, and you see them in a place where they can not save themselves and they need your help, you help them immediately. And that is the emotion I saw on her face, it was love. If it wasn’t for her that day, I do not know what would have happened. But when I read this, I feel I experienced a little bit of that moment when Peter started to sink.
Being human, I believe those moments of sinking happen more than we’d like. This world fights to distract us from what is true, and we allow our emotions to take over. Jesus is there in front of us, saying come to me and what ever the reason may be, some of us choose to stay in the boat. Maybe it’s the comforts of familiarity, no matter how harmful that familiarity may be, the knowing how it is verses the not knowing holds you captive. It can be scary to become the person he wants you to become, especially if you don’t feel worthy. But I feel like this story speaks to that. He knows we are going to doubt and he wants us to know, he will be there to catch us.
Another haunting question is, why do we wait until we are sinking to ask for help and not when starting out? The love he has for us can be overwhelming and it makes us question, how could someone ever love us this much when we don’t even love ourselves that way? Our sin blemishes us and makes us dirty, like Adam and Eve, we want to hide. We try to do things our way, without guidance, and I believe he lets us feel our failures to teach us that when we finally want to turn to him and let go of our pride and shame, he is still there waiting, loving us just the same.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
I’ve been fortunate to experience the high faith moments, by being completely overwhelmed with the joy of knowing Christ but I also still have many moments of sinking, when I let the world get the best of me. I still get scared to leave the boat at times but I am also still growing. Through these experiences, I have learned a lot about me, who God is and my relationship with him. He loves me and he is always with me. Jesus wants to show us that through him, we can do more than what we can comprehend. If we can stop putting limitations on what can be done by this worlds standards and to be open to all that Jesus can show us, to take courage and not be afraid. Having faith and trusting Jesus doesn’t mean you will no longer have pain or be tested, but it does mean that you won’t have to go through it alone.
Growing Through Faith 