After the miraculous
feeding of 5,000 men, women, and children as recorded by Matthew in chapter 14
of his gospel, (verses 13-21), one would think that the disciple’s faith in
Jesus would be unshakable. Such was not the case. Jesus sent them by boat to the
other side of the Sea of Galilee, while he went into a mountain to pray (22, 23).
In contrast to the time of peace and serenity Jesus was experiencing, the
disciples found themselves confronted by a violent storm.
Matthew reports on what happened, “But the
ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was
contrary” (Matthew 14:24). Life is just like that at times. It seems as though
we find ourselves rowing against the wind while the circumstances surrounding
us are not letting up. But lo and
behold, in such times like that, Jesus manifests his presence with us. Not in a
visible way as he did that night to his troubled disciples, but in way which
assures us that he is the good shepherd who cares for his sheep. Therefore, we
are told what to do in 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all
your care upon him; for he careth for you”. When Peter saw Jesus walking on the
water his faith was strong and he petitioned Jesus to allow him to go to him
(Matthew 14:25-28). Now Peter, seasoned fisherman that he was, had never walked
on water before, so this was quite an amazing request. What is even more
amazing is the fact that he got out of the boat and began to walk on the water.
How many of us would have even left the
boat? What was Peter thinking as he began his walk toward Jesus, “so far so
good?” Whatever positive thoughts may have crossed his mind suddenly vanished
when he began to look at the water and started to sink. In this case, it took
something quite disturbing to get his eyes off Jesus, and get himself into
trouble. Usually it doesn’t take such a dramatic event before our faith starts
to fail us and we, preverbally speaking, “begin to sink”. Let’s return to the narrative. “And he (Jesus) said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the
ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But
when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he
cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were
come into the ship, the wind ceased” (verses 29-32). A few things can be seen here. First, Peter
obeyed the Lord’s command. He started out strong in faith. Second, as long as his
eyes were on Jesus he was doing fine. Nothing should have changed because he
saw Jesus standing on the water, proving that Jesus had the power to do as he
willed. Third, doubt and fear quickly set in when Peter looked at the angry
waves. Circumstances prevailed over faith. The Lord’s words to Peter, “O thou
of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt’? (31b), give us an insight into
the nature of the human condition. The
best of men are men at best! By nature, we are all men of little faith and
prone to doubt the wisdom, power and love of God. Such doubt is even more
apparent when our personal or family welfare is at stake. The little faith we
have must be constantly nourished and strengthened to become unshakeable faith.
Time spent in God’s Word, time spent in prayer and praise, and time spent with one’s
brothers and sisters in Christ is a sure means of building the Christian up in
faith. Don’t think you can stand on your own two feet in the storms of life.
You can only stand by the grace that God supplies which comes through Jesus
Christ. There are no self-made men in the kingdom of God. “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Pastor Tom
Pastor Tom
- Dwight L. Moody
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