It was dark that night on the sea of Galilee. Earlier, Jesus had told his disciples to take the boat across the lake. As they continued their journey across the lake, Jesus came to them walking on the water. At first, they were frightened, "It's a ghost!" they cried out. But Jesus spoke to them and calmed their fears.

As soon as Peter saw that it was Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water" (Matthew 14:28). So Jesus called Peter to come to him. Peter's faith must have been soaring. He climbed out of the boat and started walking on the water towards Jesus.

Can you imagine what must have been going through Peter's mind? "I'm walking on water! This is incredible! I can't wait to tell my friends about this. Who will believe me?" The joy and excitement of experiencing this miracle must have been wonderful.

Then, something happened. His focused change. As he was walking towards Jesus, something else caught his attention. The wind and waves started to churn. A storm was brewing. Peter started to worry. "Oh no. This getting a little unstable here. I don't think I can do this anymore." His water-walking faith was replaced with the storms of fear and doubt.

And when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30).

When those fearful thoughts came crashing in, Peter did something very important: he cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus reached down and pulled him up, and they walked back to the boat.

Do you feel like you need "water-walking" faith to accomplish the simple things in life? As soon as you step out of your place of safety, do you feel like things around you start getting out of hand? Do you feel unstable, fearful of the waves and wind that pound against your faith?

Next time you step out of your comfort zone, remember two things: don't take your eyes of Jesus. If you do, then you will only see the waves and winds of unstable circumstances, and your faith will falter.

Secondly, if you do start to sink, simply cry out, "Jesus, save me!" He will reach down from heaven, pick you up and walk with you back to the safety of your boat. He will not let you sink.

Blessings!

Russell

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|  Russell Pond     <><
|  Season of Peace
|  email:  ponder@season.org
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© Russell Pond 1999
Reprinted with permission