Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.”

“Come,” He said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

Matthew 14:25-31

My favorite person in the Bible is Peter. I’ve always identified with his zeal for Christ coupled with his overwhelmingly flawed humanity. The way in which Jesus so deeply loved him, despite his mistakes, always gave me hope. Currently, God has been pushing me to truly conquer fear with faith. He has put me in situations that require my yes even when it’s terrifyingly scary to do so. In the middle of one of these fear provoking situations, God drew me to this particular passage about my favorite guy, Peter. When I usually read about Peter, I read the words with a smile, understanding his flaws and extending my sympathy towards him. As I read this passage however, I immediately felt sad and convicted. It was something about Peter starting to sink that really messed me up. 

What’s particularly convicting about this passage is that prior to this moment, Jesus had just finished performing the miracle of feeding thousands with only two fish and five loaves of bread. Peter saw and was an active participant in this miracle. Despite that, in this new situation at the lake, the evidence of Jesus’ power meant nothing.  Why on earth did wind frighten Peter when God clearly called him forward? Wasn’t it obvious that Jesus would make sure the wind and waves didn’t hurt Peter? Ready to call Peter out for his foolish doubt, I realized that I am no different than him.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” – Isaiah 26:3

As I reread the passage, I began to focus on the moment where Peter looked away from Jesus and focused on the wind. It was when he changed his focus that he ultimately began to sink. Aren’t we the same? Don’t the winds of life change our focus too? The wind, though different for all of us, tends to be centered around those “what if” taunts. For Peter, the presence of the wind reminded him of his humanity and  made him question if he could actually stay afloat. For us, the wind may be negative self-talk, life experiences that tell us we can’t succeed, or even the devil whispering lies in our ears that seem too true to negate. The presence of the loud and threatening wind makes us look inward and focus on our inabilities. Keeping our focus on God, however, reminds us that we aren’t doing life alone. In every way that we are inadequate or unsure, God is there with strength, boldness, confidence, purpose, and peace.

We are called to be a light. We are called to be positive. We are called to have hope. We are called to stand strong in the face of fear. For us to have these qualities, we must believe in the foundation and covering of God in our lives. We have to choose, no matter how scared or even stupid we may feel, to believe that the character of God is true. It is faith that moves God (Hebrews 11:6). It is faith that helps us fight against the constant attacks on our lives (Ephesians 6:16). It is faith that renews our strength when life seems overwhelming (Isaiah 40:31). All Peter needed to do was keep his eyes on Jesus. Jesus was a solid and steady foundation amid the tumultuous winds and waves. 

The most beautiful part of this passage is how Jesus responded to Peter. Despite Peter’s actions, Jesus still, immediately, reached out His hand to save Peter from drowning. Jesus called Peter out on his doubt but still held onto him with love. Thank God for all the times He still held onto us, doubt and all. I pray that the next time we are faced with winds that threaten to steal our peace, we won’t need to be rescued from the water. I pray that we will continue to walk forward, trusting that if God says come, we don’t need to worry about anything else. 

Eyes up, twentysomethings ❤️