DAY 96 of #100daysofJesus
Jesus walked on water, and then Peter did too.
It was a dark and stormy night (literally), and some of the disciples were out in their fishing boat on the sea. They were afraid when they saw a man walking towards them ON THE WATER.
Remember, this was before paddleboards were invented, so seeing the silhouette of a man on the water was unnerving.
Soon they heard Jesus' voice, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."
Peter answered Jesus with, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." And Jesus replied "Come."
As Peter looked towards the Savior, filled with faith, he took a step out of the boat and onto the water. And then another. "He walked on the water, to go to Jesus." Pretty incredible!
But then Peter made a mistake. He took his eyes off Jesus and began to notice the danger around him, which caused him to fear.
We know that fear and faith, as opposites, cannot coexist. So the without faith, Peter began to sink.
Lucky for Peter, he knew what to do. He called out to Jesus, "Lord, save me." It's doubtful Peter could comprehend at that time the full significance of his desperate plea.
"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
We see here that even a "little faith" is enough to perform miracles if our focus is on Jesus. And replacing our faithful focus on the Savior with circumstantial fears will quickly cause the best of us to begin sinking.
We don't know how far away Peter was from Jesus when he began to sink, but we do know that once Peter cried out for help, Jesus "immediately" closed the gap "and caught him."
I've had times where I felt like I was drowning, and all I could do was similarly call out to God, "Save me!" And He does.
As we are doing our best to come unto Jesus, we will inevitably make mistakes and experience "boisterous wind" challenges.
How comforting is it to know that Jesus is nearby and ready to catch us?! He won't let us drown! While in the midst of our life's storms, this reality can help us to "be of good cheer."
What next step of faith do we need to take to come towards Jesus?
How can we ignore the storms and fix our focus on Him as we take that next step?
Are we ready for the miracles He has in store for us?
Trust Jesus.
(Matthew 14:25-33)
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