Jesus walking on the Stormy Seas
John 14:25-32 recounts the story of Jesus walking on the water to His disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
The night was stormy and the seas were rough. The disciples were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee and were trying to row against the wind. They were not making any headway. In the midst of the storm on these rough waters, Jesus came calmly walking across the sea towards the fear filled disciples in the boat.
Peter, the disciple, upon recognizing Jesus, shouted out and asked Jesus if he could join Him walking in the water. Jesus replied that he should come and so Peter stepped out of the boat in full faith.
Peter then starts to walk across the water towards the Lord.
However, Peter, who was full of faith when he first stepped out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus, suddenly takes in the situation that surrounds him.
The sea is stormy and the waves are rough, There are high winds and probably lightning and thunder in the skies. Worst of all, there is no solid ground under his feet. Realizing his situation, faith is slowly replaced by fear and Peter begins to slowly sink into the water.
In fear, Peter calls out to Jesus to save him. Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and saved Peter, saying, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Fear causes us to fail!
Peter began in full faith. He was the only person, besides Jesus, to ever walk on water unaided. This point is often missed as we humans are programmed to see a person’s faults and failings before we look at their success.
Peter succeeded – He walked on the water with Jesus.
But then, fear gripped his soul, and he began to sink!
How often do you begin something in full faith only to allow fear and doubt to grip your heart and cause you to begin to sink.
Perhaps, like Peter, you prayed first for guidance from Jesus. Maybe you received confirmation that you were on the right path and that you should step out of the boat, and begin to walk on water, but then the reality of the situation gripped you and you began to sink.
“Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”