At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
Peter said to him in reply,
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
Before we look at Peter's lack of faith and sinking in the waves let us first see this. Jesus says, "it is I". Peter receives this word and responds. He asks Jesus to call him out of the boat, out away from the shelter it provides, out toward the chaos of the waters, out as long as it is toward Jesus himself. Most of us never get this far. Most of us are content to stay in our boats, not really sure about the voice we hear out over the waters. Some of us may simply jump overboard in frustration with the storm. Some might see someone walking on the waters, assume we can do it too, and then promptly sink like stones. Either fear paralyzes us or pride makes us overly bold. Peter gets this right. It may seem presumptuous to ask to walk on water. But that is not so much what Peter wants. What he wants is to be with Jesus, even if that means not being in the boat.
The second lesson Peter teaches us is that even once we follow such a dramatic invitation from Jesus we are not free to go back to our normal way of looking at things or assessing our circumstances. The waves are tall and the wind rages. If these are our focus we become paralyzed and begin to sink. Even if we were standing on the water once if we focus on the storm for too long we are completely submerged. It is noteworthy that being close to Jesus means we are also closer to these waves. In some ways they are harder to ignore. We rely completely on Jesus once we step out of the boat.
So let us keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). Let us not look to circumstance. Let us ask him to call us and follow where he leads. When we fix our gaze thusly we do not need to compare or compete.
They complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks?
Does he not speak through us also?"
When our limitations are revealed and our faith is shown to be so small even then we are not in danger. When we do look away from Jesus all we need to do is look back again, cry out, and take his hand.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
We begin to experience safety and peace even amidst the storms of life knowing that Jesus is always there to save us. The distractions of circumstance matter less and less. We look to Jesus and trust in him.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
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