Matthew 14:29-30

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

It was about 3am when this event took place. The disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and had been battling with a major storm. Then suddenly a stranger appeared to them walking on the water and they shouted out in terror: “It’s a ghost!” Jesus then revealed that it was him and that they had no need to be afraid. It was typical of Peter that he should be the first to respond and he suggested that Jesus should invite him to come to him. Jesus duly invited him and Peter attempted to walk on the water, but with disastrous results. Within seconds he was crying out to the Lord to save him.

In one way Peter’s attempt to walk on the lake was really impressive. Although his faith was clearly not as strong as it needed to be, he did at least make the attempt – which is more than any of the other disciples did. I am sure we all warm to his enthusiasm even if it was rather impetuous. But Peter’s fundamental problem was that he concentrated his attention on the waves and not on Jesus. He focused on the problem and was immediately overwhelmed by it.

We all face problems and challenges. There’s no way to avoid them. But this incident reminds us that we need to focus our attention on the Lord, not on the problems. When we place our faith in him, we will learn that we can be confident whatever our circumstances, and view our challenges with a proper perspective. Like Peter, we too will often fail. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the problems we face and we feel ourselves drowning. How wonderful that we can cry out to the Lord and know that he will save us! But you can be sure that in the same breath he will be telling us, as he told Peter (v31), that he longs that our faith should grow.

Question

Do you consider that you are growing in faith?

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for your patience with me when my faith falls short. Help me to grow in my relationship with you each day. Amen