Matthew 14: 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
Why do we doubt? Whenever I read this I think how it reflects our spiritual life. When we first start following Christ we are surrounded by others in our boat. They support us, they teach us, they give us the confidence we need as we drink the milk of faith. Yet the time comes when we must move from the milk to the meat. We hear the Lord calling us to step out of our comfort of the boat, and go out into the world…..we have to step out onto the water and start moving towards the Lord. Just like Peter we can hear the Lord, in many ways we too can see him right there in front of us, arms outstretched and waiting……and just like Peter we start looking around, we see the waves of the world eager to swallow us up, we feel the winds beat at our face, and we worry that we might be blown away from the Lord…..and then we look down….and we notice that we are starting to sink. It is at that moment we make one of the most important choices in our life. Do we cry out for the Lord to save us, or do we allow ourselves to sink into the sea of the world? One might think it is an easy choice to make, but I can tell you, many choose to sink over cry out. Why would they do that? Honestly it has to do with effort….or lack of it. When Christ reaches out for Peter, the first thing He points out is the little amount of faith that Peter has at that moment…you of little faith…..and this is what I mean by effort. For us to stay above the water, it takes effort, for us to keep our faith strong we must continue to search out the meat. We must feed on the truth of the Lord. Many of us….without evening really thinking about it I might add, quit looking for the meat of the Word. We say things like well, I have learned all I can learn, or I am far enough along in my faith that I am safe, my favorite is I already know the Lord. Well, I would like to point our Peter knew the Lord pretty well, and yet he stumbled! Without putting much thought into it at all we allow the devil to convince us that our journey has ended, or at least slowed. That somehow, for some reason, we don’t have to search out the Lord as hard anymore. That could not be further form the truth! Now more then ever is the time to put your full measure into searching out the Lord, finding the path that He has for you, and making sure your feet are firmly planted on it! Do not allow the waves that crash, and the wind that blows to distract you and scare you. Don’t fall victim to the false belief that somehow you are done, or you have arrived. CRY OUT to the Lord, and he will catch you. Just like He did for Peter, He will pull you up and to safety. If you want to defeat the wind and the waves, if you want to keep yourself above water, then take the hand that the Lord has expended. You will find it far more comforting, that the comfort you felt in your boat. You will find more peace, more direction, more grace, more love, than you ever did when your feet were dry. Just remember, to reflect often to make sure you are focused on the Lord, make the choice to not sink!
God Bless,
Brian Thetford
The New
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