29 “Come,” he said. (Matt 14:28-29)
We all know how this turned out. Peter started walking on the water, but the waves and the storm got more of his attention than Jesus and he started to sink. He finally cried out to Jesus who was still standing firm on the water and Jesus saved him with a bit of a rebuke.
At this time in my life, my wife and I are going through a bit of a storm. She is out of work and finding a job has been quite difficult and frustrating. And with this, the waves have started building. The waves of financial stress… the waves of future security doubts… the waves that we have dealt with before. You see, we know these waves. We’ve seen them before. We’ve struggled against them and been tossed around by these waves before. You might say we have faith in what the waves can do and it scares us, or at least it’s starting to scare me. Yes, I have to admit I am, like Peter, at this point in my life, of little faith. I hate it. I really do. I want to keep my eyes on Jesus and walk calmly and victoriously on the storm. If it weren’t for those darned waves and what I know they can do.
It’s not that I am not convinced of God’s power and ability. It could very well be that I am not fully convinced of God’s love and providence in my life yet. My view of God is distorted I know, though I am trying to let Him heal that view. God will provide, but how much of the storm will I have to endure before He does? How much sea water will I have to swallow before I am lifted up? From spiritual insight into this story, I will only have to swallow as much as I want to. I will only have to swallow sea water as long as I struggle in my own power and acknowledge the power of the waves instead of my Lord.
Peter got a rebuke from Jesus, but in all of these rebukes that Jesus gave to the disciples, I don’t see a nasty derision. Jesus did not reflect that type of attitude anywhere else in His life and ministry. Jesus never let his followers fail without teaching and growing them. I see everything that Jesus did as a teaching moment. In another storm record, Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?”
For many of us, like Peter and the disciples, our faith is too often in what we see and know. It took them quite a while to “know” Jesus and the power of God in Him. Through the incident of this storm, Peter got a chance to know this truth more. Growing is hard. Waves are truly scary. My Lord has power over all of the storms of life. I don’t really like the taste of sea water.
Lord help me trade my acknowledgement of the power of the storms for acknowledgement of Your power in my life.
“Little faith;” Yes I admit it. It’s not natural to walk on the water. It’s hard not to see the waves. Peter, a fisherman, knew what the waves could do. He had faced them many times in his life. While in the boat, he and the others had been straining at the oars against the waves. They had been tossed around in a sea worthy boat by the waves. He did not yet know, however, what Jesus could do and the power that was in him. He did not yet know that this same power was available to him in faith.
I understand Peter. I want to walk on the waves. I want to have victory over earthly reality, but I also know what the waves can do.At this time in my life, my wife and I are going through a bit of a storm. She is out of work and finding a job has been quite difficult and frustrating. And with this, the waves have started building. The waves of financial stress… the waves of future security doubts… the waves that we have dealt with before. You see, we know these waves. We’ve seen them before. We’ve struggled against them and been tossed around by these waves before. You might say we have faith in what the waves can do and it scares us, or at least it’s starting to scare me. Yes, I have to admit I am, like Peter, at this point in my life, of little faith. I hate it. I really do. I want to keep my eyes on Jesus and walk calmly and victoriously on the storm. If it weren’t for those darned waves and what I know they can do.
It’s not that I am not convinced of God’s power and ability. It could very well be that I am not fully convinced of God’s love and providence in my life yet. My view of God is distorted I know, though I am trying to let Him heal that view. God will provide, but how much of the storm will I have to endure before He does? How much sea water will I have to swallow before I am lifted up? From spiritual insight into this story, I will only have to swallow as much as I want to. I will only have to swallow sea water as long as I struggle in my own power and acknowledge the power of the waves instead of my Lord.
Peter got a rebuke from Jesus, but in all of these rebukes that Jesus gave to the disciples, I don’t see a nasty derision. Jesus did not reflect that type of attitude anywhere else in His life and ministry. Jesus never let his followers fail without teaching and growing them. I see everything that Jesus did as a teaching moment. In another storm record, Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?”
For many of us, like Peter and the disciples, our faith is too often in what we see and know. It took them quite a while to “know” Jesus and the power of God in Him. Through the incident of this storm, Peter got a chance to know this truth more. Growing is hard. Waves are truly scary. My Lord has power over all of the storms of life. I don’t really like the taste of sea water.
Lord help me trade my acknowledgement of the power of the storms for acknowledgement of Your power in my life.
