Lessons from Peter

Imagine being in a boat in the middle of a storm that you have been intentionally sent into. You have been fighting the wind, rain and waves for a while.  You are tired, wet, maybe a bit confused because you have been tossed by the waves in the darkness.  It has been a long night of rowing against the waves created by the storm.  Close to dawn, after a very long night, you see what appears to be someone walking on top of the water and waves.   What is going on, you ask yourself and those around you?  What or who could be walking on the water and waves through the storm with seeming ease?  I think I would be like the disciples, in Matthew 14, and think I was seeing a ghost.  What other explanation could there be?  These same disciples had recently witnessed Jesus perform a miracle by feeding over 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.  But still their first thought is not “Oh it must be Jesus coming to meet us”.  Jesus knows their fear and speaks “take courage! It is I.  Don’t be afraid”.  Jesus heard their distress above the noise of the storm and spoke these words to quiet and comfort their spirits.

At times I have been in a storm.  Life is coming at me from all directions.  I am exhausted from trying to navigate the storm in my own strength.  I am feeling wet, like a limp rag, overwhelmed and frightened. Do I look up out of the storm and see Jesus coming but don’t recognize Him?  He tells me the same thing – take courage and not be afraid.  Does Jesus’ presence with me give me peace and embolden me as it did Peter?  Do I have the faith to step out of the boat and walk toward Jesus? 

As I was reading this story, I saw things that hadn’t been evident to me in VBS or when I attended Sunday School as a child.  What made Peter think that was a good idea to step out on the water?  We don’t know what was going through his mind when he said “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water”. We do know that he had the faith, and courage to ask and then when told to “come” he got out of the boat in the middle of a storm and walked on water.  We can also tell from this example that Peter had complete trust in Jesus.

I need faith like Peter’s.  I am not sure I recognize Jesus’ presence in my storms. And if I do, I don’t think I am so quick to take the courageous step of faith to leave a somewhat secure situation to step out into an unknown situation.  I immediately think of what could go wrong.  I may not be successful at a new endeavor (sinking) or I am in over my head and I have no idea what I am doing or what I got myself into (drowning).  I am more afraid of what could happen than what is happening in my boat in the storm.  Peter’s faith and trust, in Jesus, enabled him to do something humanly impossible.  It wasn’t anything in Peter that allowed him to walk on water and it isn’t anything in me that allows me to experience the impossible.  Only faith in Jesus, God’s Son, allows mere mortals to experience the miraculous power of the Almighty God.

The next lesson I learned from Peter is to not take my eyes off Jesus.  There have been times that I have taken a risk, but like Peter, I take my eyes off Jesus and focus on what is going on around me.  Peter went from amazement of walking on water to sinking. This happened quickly and it can happen quickly to me.  We live in a fallen and broken world and even when we are walking and obeying Jesus, things in life go wrong.  People may do things or say something that knocks me for a loop.  An event I want to participate in may not work out.  My child may not get into the school or job they really wanted.  A job transfer may happen at an inconvenient time for the family.  These are just a few of the storms I have navigated in my life.  The winds and storms of life come at me and if I take my eyes off Jesus I will sink.  But Jesus is always there to pull me up and save me if I cry out to Him.  As Peter began to sink, immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  My rescue may not always be immediate, but the next words always apply.  “You of little faith”, he said, “why did you doubt?”  I imagine Jesus saying the same thing to me.  Why does my faith waiver and doubt take over? As my BSF leader said, we need to have vertical eyes, not horizontal eyes.  Keep looking up for our help, not to the people and world around us.

The final lesson I learned is that taking a step of faith may not just be for me.  Maybe it is so the people left in the boat can see Jesus’ power over the earthly realm and have increased faith.  Matthew does not tell us what the reaction of the other disciples was.  If I was there, I would probably be saying “what on earth are you doing”, “are you nuts”, or “Peter get back in the boat”.  I recently had lunch with a friend, and we were talking about life and how she wound up moving to Charlotte.  She has a getting out the boat in the middle of the storm story.  As she said, it made no earthly sense to move here, but she did.  She is so glad she did.  The move has not been without challenges, but she is so glad she took the opportunity to try something different.  Her story encouraged my heart.  Steps of obedience to Jesus are always met with encountering His presence.

Storms look different for different people.  Your storm may be the death of a loved one.  Everyday you have to find peace and figure out how to live without that special person beside you.  Or maybe it is retirement.  You may have looked forward to your last day of work, but after a long career you may be wondering, now what.  One of my storms is the emotions around my last child leaving the nest and going to college.  Eighteen years ago, it seemed so far away, and now that it is mere months away, I am left wondering what will happen to me once she leaves.  Emotional storms can be just as daunting as physical storms.

Perhaps I have also been intentionally sent into the storm to grow my faith, or maybe I am there because of choices I made.  Regardless of the reason I am not alone in the storm.  Peter trusted Jesus. I need to trust Jesus also and get out of the boat.  Trusting and obeying Jesus can unlock the miraculous and impossible in our lives.  Doubt and fear will lead us to sinking away from Jesus.  We have to cry out to Him to save us.  We should never fear that Jesus will ignore our cries for help.  He did not ignore Peter, but instead immediately reached out to save him.  We can trust that Jesus will do the same for us.  Jesus knows we have doubt and fear but, I feel, He calls us to rely on His faithfulness and trustworthiness.  I encourage you to take a step out of the boat and see how Jesus meets you in the storm.