Walking on the water with Jesus

Matt 14:26-30: “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

One of the many things that Jesus is known for is walking on water. This account of the wonderful and awesome power that Jesus displayed to His disciples and to the “leader” of the apostles, Peter, who walked on water also, is a clear demonstration that with God all things are possible. Peter showed the pluck and boldness that Christ-followers need to display in their life and during their Christian walk. Peter was bold enough to ask God what he wanted in his heart. He did not want to stay in the boat while there was a storm; he just wanted to be with Jesus. Therefore, he asks a question; Peter said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And Jesus responds “Come”. Oh what a beautiful picture this is of our relationship to Jesus. Peter asked, and Jesus answered. If we would ask of Jesus in our prayers with the boldness of Peter then we would here Jesus answering those prayers as He did with Peter. Sometimes we don’t ask because we know that He will answer. “God make me a difference in this world”, or “God help those poor people in Haiti”, or “God send workers into the harvest”. Jesus answers by saying “Come”, and that scares us.

Peter did what his Lord told him to do. Moreover, we need to obey what God tells us to do. However, the scene changes as Peter is walking on the water for he takes his eyes off of Jesus when he looks at the waves and the storm around him. As a result, Peter begins to sink. The moment Peter focused on the circumstances around him, it blocked out his true purpose for walking on the water in the first place; to be with Jesus. He lost focus and got distracted. We can have the same problems when we decide to put personal and professional circumstances front and center, instead of Jesus.

Have you ever felt you were sinking into despair and unbelief? Maybe the storms of life are pressing in around you and the pressure is building. The only way to stay afloat and to walk on the seas with Jesus is to keep focused on Him, and to surrender your total life to Him daily. When you do that everyday you can then exert your energies elsewhere and not get bogged down with life. Learn to detach yourself from the circumstances that you cannot change and center on Jesus.

Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: Gen 49-50 New Testament Matt 15:1-20