Do you have what it takes to walk on water in the midst of a Storm?
Do you have what it takes to stand firm while the winds and the waves beat down on you, threatening to sink you?
Peter did for a moment.
Lets learn from him (for a moment).
Matthew 14:22-33(ESV)
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
So look at that. Yeshua sends his disciples ahead of him while he takes care of sending the crowd home.
Then he goes up on the mountain to pray by himself.
And he prayed for a good long while as he was alone by the time evening came.
How often do you "go up the mountain" to pray alone? To truly commune with the the Lord God, the Most High?
Jesus finds it to be important as he does this continually... Maybe we should too?
Anywho, moving on.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
There are many interesting things going on here , besides the walking on the water.
Jesus calms them with telling them to take heart and to not be afraid. Telling Fear to leave.
Peter tests the Lord and he is commanded to walk on the water? Commanded? Interesting. "Command me to come to you on the water."
Jesus does? "Come"
Did Peter not have the faith to walk on water without the Lord commanding him to?
Second point, what is the Lord commanding YOU to do in your own life? Do you have the obedience to follow through despite your fears?
Here is the part I find the most interesting.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
He was afraid when he saw the WIND.
Now, this is most probably talking about how the wind was moving the waves and threatening to push him over due to the strong gusts. But the wind is something that cannot be directly seen. Only the affects of the wind can be directly observed. Peter took his focus off of the Lord, who was directly in front of him, due to his fear of the wind, something he cannot see.
He doubted as it says “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”. The question is, what did he doubt?
Like Peter, When have you taken your eyes off of God to focus on the things that: 1. you cannot control, 2: you cannot see the full picture of, and 3: you were already in the process of overcoming?
As it has been told to me, in terms of government, "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory."
Peter had already walked to the Lord on the water, through the waves. He was not just standing there. He had already been shown that he could do this. The Lord had already given him what he had asked for.
But the fear of the unknown and the what-ifs overwhelmed his trust in the Lord. What if I sink and drown before the Lord can grab me? What if I cannot walk back to the boat? what if I die?
How Peter responds is how we should respond when we doubt. When we lack faith. (We never doubt or lack faith though so this probably is not applicable..... ideally we should put 100% trust and faith in the Lord)
“Lord, save me.”
The Lord and Peter *probably* walked back to the boat. When they got there, the wind stopped.
Why didn't Jesus stop the wind before that? Wouldn't it have been easier to walk on water when the waves were gone and the sea was smooth? (proof Jesus liked to walk in the rain?)
Maybe the winds and the waves didn't affect him because he knew they had no power over him? Maybe he wanted to use them to teach his disciples about faith and trust? Who knows(Jesus does).
Isn't it easier to trust the Lord when the wind and waves are gone and things are smooth?
Harder to trust in the midst of a storm.
This week, Pray and ask the Lord to reveal where in your life you are doubting and lacking faith. (Chances are you have already walked through more than you could imagine possible.)
"Go up the mountain" and Pray. He has commanded and invited us to walk with him. Focus on him.
Pray and repent for those doubts and ask the Lord to reveal his truth to you. We doubt and do not trust Abba usually because we believe lies about his character. (He is untrustworthy and will let me drown. He is not loving and will punish me. etc)
Pray and ask “Lord, save me” in the areas you feel too weak to handle on your own. It is okay to ask for help! But there comes a time when you need to mature and Trust the Lord. Chances are you are already walking on the waves. Fear will just cause you to sink.
Pray and bless the Lord because Jesus truly is the Son of God!