Have you ever been told “No, you can’t possibly do that, it’s impossible!” Maybe this is something that you felt that the Lord called you to do, maybe some ministry that you felt led to start, but some nay-sayers say that it is impossible, that you can’t do that. Our Gospel reading for today gives an account of Peter doing something that we all would believe was impossible, but since the Lord called him, he was able to do what the Lord said he could. Let’s see what it is, and how far faith would take him as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.
As our Scripture opens, Jesus had just fed the multitudes of people, and then He sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while He went off by Himself to pray (vs. 22-23). While out on the boat that night a very strong storm came up, and the disciples were having a difficult time getting the boat across the lake to their destination (vs. 24). Though Jesus was not with the disciples, He knew where they were every minute, and what they were experiencing. In the middle of the night, in the middle of the storm, Jesus came to His disciples walking on the water. There is no darkness that can hide us from the Savior, no trial can obscure His vision.
The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. Compared to many other large lakes around the world, it is not very deep, but still a respectable 141’ deep. The disciples were several miles from shore, and yet, as they looked out at the waves that were tossing the boat around, they saw something moving across the water. That couldn’t possibly be a person, as they were far from shore, and yet that is what it definitely looked like. They feared it was a ghost, and yet it looked like Jesus, as well! (vs. 25-26).
Picture yourself on this boat with a storm raging all around you, and then you see something, someone moving on the water towards you! Just as the disciples were, I’m sure we all would be afraid. Jesus knew they were afraid, both of the storm, and from seeing Him walking on the water, so He called out to them with reassurance that He was there (vs. 27). The worst of storms cannot stop Jesus from coming to offer help, hope, and assistance. He comes in the midst of our troubles, and says “Take comfort, it is I!”
It was then that Peter, seeing his beloved Savior out there walking on the water, called out to Him, asking that if it really was Jesus, and not a ghost that some of them were afraid it was, that He would allow him to also walk on the water and come to Him (vs. 28-29). Peter wasn’t putting Jesus to the test. He was the only one in the boat to respond in faith. The others did not believe that Peter or themselves could walk on water. Peter did. He moved to the side of the boat, and put one leg over, and then the other. His feet touched the water, and felt that it was solid under his feet. Peter let go of the side of the boat, and took a few steps away. Would you have the faith to do that? Would I?
Peter taking that first step required courage, faith, and risk, especially when a storm was raging. Peter knew God was there, and he left the comfort of the boat. However, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and put them on the waves (vs. 30). That caused him to panic. He would have suddenly realized that he’s several steps away from the boat, actually walking on water, doing something that is impossible in the natural realm. He can’t be doing that! It’s not really possible! Look at those huge waves! He’ll die! Peter’s faith wavered when he saw the waves. When his faith faltered he reached out to Jesus, the only one who could help. He hadn’t prayed first before he set out, but when he began to sink, he did pray. Though it was late, it was not too late. Peter’s prayer was short. Short prayers are long enough.
Peter doubted, and started to sink. There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says “I wonder if it could be.” Unbelief says “I know it is not.” Like Peter, we doubt when we take our eyes off of Jesus. We see misfortunes and disasters, like waves. We sink and cry to Jesus. Jesus was there to lift Peter up (vs. 31-32), and He’ll do the same for us.
When adversity strikes, we sometimes forget our knowledge of God, just as the disciples who had been with Jesus for a while did. We struggle to recall past answers to prayer and lessons learned in prior crises. Fear and faith cannot go together. Fear and faith cannot live at the same time. The minute we begin to fear, we are forgetting our faith. When we turn in fear, we begin to sink in our trials. When we focus on the waves of trouble, rather than looking to Jesus for help, we might despair and sink like Peter did. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus and His power.
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