Have you ever felt like you were sinking? Like the storms of life have taken all your focus, and you are just lost in the chaos? I’m sure we have all felt this way at some point, and the apostle Peter did too.
In Matthew 14 and other related accounts, we see the story of Peter walking on water. This story takes place on a dark stormy night where the apostles are in a boat out on the sea. They see something walking on the water and they become frightened thinking it is a ghost, but Jesus cries out saying “It is I, don’t be afraid.” Peter then says “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” And with great faith, Peter got out of the boat and started to walk toward Jesus, but when he saw the storms around him and he stopped looking at Jesus, he began to sink.
Matthew 14:31 EEB (EasyEnglish Bible) says, ” Immediately, Jesus put out his hand and he took hold of Peter. He said to Peter, ‘You should trust me more than you do. Why did you not believe I could help you?'”
Do we ever do the same thing? Sometimes we can get so caught up in the storms around us that we stop looking at Jesus who is right in front of us. We can begin to sink and lose our trust in Jesus, and we even begin to doubt his ability to help us.
An unknown author wrote,
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.”
Just like a ship in the water, our outcome is determined by what we let get inside of us, and what we choose to focus on.
Isaiah 43:1-3 ESV says, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
We will always have storms.
We live in a broken world full of chaos, and we will always deal with trials, temptations, and life’s immense storms. But we have hope that Jesus is in front of us, and if we keep our eyes on him then we can walk on water. Isaiah tells us that when we pass through water or walk through fire, God is with us. I want to encourage all of us to learn from Peter’s lesson and not let the storms of life take our focus. Keep your eyes positioned on him, put your trust firmly in him, and never stop looking at Jesus.
In Christian love,
Julianna
