“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee 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 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:28-31 KJV)
It is easy to see how the disciples were frightened by seeing Jesus walking on the turbulent seas. First, they had never seen any human walk on water in the daytime much less at night. Second, it was a dark night under wild, impossible conditions. Finally, they naturally thought they were seeing a ghost.
Yet when Jesus spoke to them, they weren’t convinced. Like Peter, they all needed some clearer evidence, but no one except Peter had the guts to ask the Lord for proof of his reality. “Lord, if it is you, tell me to walk on the water with you.”
Well, you don’t challenge the Lord. He told Peter, “Come.” To Peter’s credit, he stepped over the gunwale and onto the water’s surface. It must have been an exciting experience. Walking on the water, not sinking under it.
And after a few steps, Peter began looking where he was rather than looking where he was going. We should not criticize him. Peter may have become mesmerized by the mystique of what he was doing. In any case, his focus should have been on the Lord not on the mystical, mysterious moment.
Maybe Peter was overcome by himself: Wow, look at what I am doing. We can only think rationally and guess. Whatever caused Peter to look down instead of ahead, it created fear and made his faith fail. He began to sink under the water.
Yet, despite his fear, Peter’s walk on the water had convinced him that the Lord was on the water too. He cried, “Lord save me!” And the Lord did, but asked, “Why did you doubt?”
What a great question for each of us. If we truly believe that “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37 KJV), then why do we doubt? Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and always (Heb. 13:8). If he invites us to join him on the tumultuous conditions of life, then keep our eyes on him and go for it, nothing doubting.
Dear Father, thank you for inviting us to walk with you. Empower us to do so without doubting. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be courageous today and walk in faith,