Day 7- Walking on Water
On the way to a baby shower today I
heard a song about walking on water, and my first
thought was I should read about that in the Bible
today! So I did.
I went to Matthew 14:22-33 because I
wanted to read about Jesus walking on the water but
also when Peter walked out to Jesus on the water.
This scripture struck me a few months ago, too. When
I was dwelling on it then what really stood out to
me was Peter’s walk out to Jesus. Peter, full
of faith, climbs right out of the boat and walks on
the water toward Jesus. But midway there, Peter gets
distracted by the strong winds and fear gets the best
of him. He begins to sink. He cries out for Jesus
to save him, and Jesus reaches out His hand catching
Peter and says, “O you of little faith, why
did you doubt?”
If you think about it, it took an incredible
amount of faith for Peter to walk out to Jesus in
the first place. It’s somewhere between 3 a.m.
and 6 a.m., pitch black, the wind is raging and everyone
on the boat thinks they see a ghost before Jesus tells
them that it’s Him. But Peter in his beautiful
child-like faith wants to just jump right out of the
boat and go meet Jesus on the water. And he begins
to! But at some point he takes his eyes off Jesus
because he’s distracted. The moment his focus
shifts off Jesus, Peter begins to sink. Wow, I bet
we’ve all been there. Can you think of a time
in your life when you felt like everything was lining
up perfectly because you were running after Jesus,
eyes firmly planted on Him, then in a moment everything
changed? How is it we get so easily distracted? The
great news is though, that Jesus is still there ready
to reach out and save us when we begin to sink. I
know I have the crying out to Jesus to be saved part
down, it’s the not sinking/get distracted part
I need to work on.
When I read this passage again tonight
though, another part of the story really stirred my
mind. The disciples think they see a ghost and they
cry out, then Jesus calmed them down letting them
know it was Him. What happens next I can’t get
over. In verse 28, Peter says this to Jesus, “Lord,
if it is You, command me
to come to You on the water.” Peter is always
so zealous and so trusting and loving like a child,
it struck me as a little odd that Peter didn’t
just ask permission, but he asked Jesus to command
him. And with the fear they used to
have of the sea back then, especially in the middle
of the night, why in the world did Peter want to go
out to Jesus on the water?! I’m surprised he
wasn’t like, “Oh good, it’s You
Jesus, now come in the boat and hang out with us.”
Peter didn’t just want to go out on the water
with Jesus but he wanted Jesus to command him to do
it. I really find this fascinating.
Sometimes I think I’m similar
to Peter and his attitude, and my excited reaction
might also have been to want to go meet Jesus on the
water, but I probably would have just run right out
there without asking. Why did Peter ask? Maybe because
he knew that no matter how much mustard seed faith
Peter had, if Jesus didn’t want him out there,
he would never have made it. I think this hits me
to the core. I’m a very goal oriented person
and when I know my objective, I just set out to make
it happen. Every once in a while I stop to ask if
God wants to join me, but I forget that I’m
not in the driver’s seat, He is. I can know
exactly where to go and how to get there, but there’s
no gas pedal or brake on the passenger side. I can
have all the faith in the world that my plan will
work and God will like it, but if God decides not
to go that direction, we’re not going that direction.
I think I can learn a lot from Peter
here. I want to be excited to meet Jesus wherever
He is, even if it looks like a scary path, Jesus is
there so I want to be there, too. I need to keep my
eyes and heart focused on Jesus no matter how crazy
and frightening the world around me may look and feel.
And whatever bright ideas or goals I come up with,
I need to first seek out what God wants me doing and
where He’s driving me. Because on my own, I’m
going nowhere fast.
Father God,
Thank You for showing me why I begin to sink in life
sometimes. Forgive me for taking my eyes off of You
sometimes. Please help my focus be more constantly
directed on You, Lord, and what You want me doing.
I know sometimes I kick and scream in the passenger
seat like a spoiled child. Help me to be more patient
and to listen to You when You’re telling me
where You want to take me. I’m ready for our
road trip Lord!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
