WALK ON WATER

HBR313 (June 29th, 2005)

Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:28-31)

Until today I never fully realized the great lesson of faith that this passage actually is. Simon Peter had already been a disciple of Christ for a while before this test occurred. He heard the call of Christ and answered by walking on the water toward Him, keeping his eyes steadily upon Jesus. However, as he got further away from the boat he turned and saw the other disciples staring back with a look of disbelief. It was then that he became aware of the storm around him and began to doubt and ultimately sink.

Like Simon Peter, many of us have been followers of Christ for several years and have been faced with many tests of faith. Unfortunately, we too have often found ourselves sinking amidst the storm around us. But there are three key things we can learn from the story of Peter walking on water:

First, God usually doesn't give others, including other Christians, the faith he gives each individual to accomplish the unique tasks he has set before them. We all have different roles in the Body of Christ, and therefore varying means to fulfill our tasks. When Simon looked back and saw the other disciples questioning what he was doing he began to be afraid, just as many of us fear we will fail if other people don't believe in us. But take heart, because God has given YOU what YOU need to complete YOUR mission.

Second, when you set your eyes upon Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) the things around you won't matter. When Simon began his walk of faith, he set out with his eyes on Christ. It wasn't until he took his eyes off that he was aware of the storm brewing around him. The same is true for our lives. When we set our hearts to God the problems around us will disappear.

Last we learn perhaps the greatest and most comforting truth: EVEN WHEN WE FAIL JESUS WILL STILL BE THERE TO LIFT US BACK UP! No matter the sin, how many times you have failed, or the trouble you have caused he will still reach out his hand to pull us back up, just as he did for Peter. What an amazing and loving Savior we serve. In Christ, God Bless.