Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Sink or swim!

"And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Matthew 14:28

The disciples were in a boat when Jesus came walking towards them on the water. The Bible says that Peter called out to Jesus:

"Lord, if it is You, bid me to come to you on the water."

So, Jesus told him to come and Peter walked on the water. But only for a moment. When he began to look around and see the winds whipping around he began to sink. Once this happened, Peter cried out to Jesus to save him.

I have thought about this story so many times and at times I have associated myself with Peter. Look at what happens to Peters faith:

He had enough faith to call out to Jesus and ask Him to let him come to Him. At the word of Jesus, Peter stepped onto the water. When Peter began to sink, he had enough faith to cry out for Jesus to save him. But the point where his faith weakens is when Peter looks around and sees the "storm".

How many times have I been like Peter?

 I have enough faith in God to step into the water. My faith is even great enough when I feel like I am sinking to cry out to Him to help me, but when I begin to look around and see the crashing waves, this is when my faith weakens. It is not the beginning or the end of the storm, but it is the middle.

It is easy to trust when we take our first steps, but when the storm comes crashing in, our faith soon diminishes when we wonder if we are going to be able to keep afloat. It is much easier to walk TO Him then to walk WITH Him in the water.

It makes me wonder if we forget who is in the water with us?

Did Peter forget Who was with Him? Jesus even asked him why he doubted. It is in the doubting moment that we lose our balance and begin to sink. We need to learn to not only trust Him in the boat, but when we step out in faith and even when the storms come crashing in. He is with us during every step, and He will not fail us, not even when we are in the middle of a storm!

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