“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. —Matthew 14:27–29 NIV
How often do we step out in faith with Jesus only to allow doubt to creep in eventually causing our feet to slip out from under us? I think of Peter as he stepped out on the waters toward Jesus. With each step he walked atop the impossible he demonstrated his belief and trust in Jesus. Peter wasn’t using mere words to say, “I trust you Jesus” he was doing it. His trust was in action. Step after step Peter was trusting Jesus with his life. But soon he began to sink as doubt crept in causing Peter’s feet to fail.
Doubt is a sneaky thing as it often accompanies fear.
The scripture reads in verse 30, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!'” (NIV).
Peter panicked as he saw the wind and the effects there of, which caused his feet to sink into the waters he was once walking on top of. Jesus identified this as doubt. Reaching out His hand to Peter Jesus said to him in verse 31, “You of little faith. . . Why did you doubt?”.
Fear and doubt go hand in hand. Often we are willing to step out on the waters with Jesus but the moment the wind picks up, we panic. We fear when we doubt that God’s protection for us in every situation — no matter how choppy the waters are or how big the storm.
Webster’s Dictionary defines doubt as:
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to be uncertain about (something) : to believe that (something) may not be true or is unlikely
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: to have no confidence in (someone or something)
Think about the implications of doubt for a moment. Observe the condition of one’s heart when doubt exists. If we doubt God we are demonstrating that a. we are uncertain about Him questioning that His word may not be true or is unlikely and b. we have no confidence (assurance) in Him.
Simply put, doubt is the opposite of how God wants us to feel about Him.
God longs for us to believe in Him completely. For us to trust Him with our life and not doubt. For us to be not afraid and be filled with courage!
I believe that the picture of Peter walking on water and eventually sinking is a powerful visual for us to carry with us throughout each day. When the wind picks up and we find ourselves afraid and beginning to sink we can picture Jesus’ hand reaching for us pulling us up. Eventually, maybe instead of fearing the storms of life we can begin to stand firm with our eyes fixed on Jesus the one who welcomed us out on the waters with him in the first place. He doesn’t promise us life will be without trouble, He does promise us that He will never leave us nor forsake us so we need not fear (Deut. 31:8).
Faith will keep us walking atop the waters with Jesus.
Peter needed courage to believe that he could still walk atop the stormy water even when the wind picked up. Today, allow God to fill you with courage to believe that He is who He says He is and He will do what He has promised He will do.
I love you,
How can I be praying for you today?
If you missed the last Devotional, Remembering Your Testimony, you can read it HERE.
P.S. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve switched to weekly devotionals as I am now actively writing my FIRST BOOK scheduled to release Spring 2017 through Destiny Image Publishers! God is faithful!! I appreciate your prayers as well!
