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Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ (Matthew 14:22-33)
How many times in our lives have we tried to do things without Jesus? Of those times how many were successful? Some may have been, but you know something was missing. It's like worship and going to church; those weeks that travel or illness have kept me from church, that whole week afterwards was just not the same. And the same is true for how I start each day. If I don't start my day praying and trusting Jesus, the day is not what God intended it to be, in my opinion. Look at what Jesus can do in this passage. First of all, Jesus was a man of prayer. He always made time to find a play in which to pray. Jesus knew the power of staying connected to God. Jesus' ministry was the result of that strong, unbroken connection He had with His father. The second thing about Jesus is that He knows when we are in trouble. Jesus loved the disciples and was not about to let them sink in the storm in which they found themselves at about 4 in the morning. He comes to them; and here's another thing Jesus can do; walking on water. This scares the disciples even more thinking Jesus was a ghost, but hearing Jesus (that's the best thing about prayer is listening to Jesus after we say amen), who speaks to them telling them not to be afraid. The one who hears this and believes Him most is Peter, who asks if he can come to Jesus. And the awesomeness of this story is that Peter walks on water too. You have to admire Peter's bravery first of all. The others were terrified of the power of this storm and how it was churning the water in a scary way, but Peter, seeing that, asks to come to Jesus, for he knew that where Jesus is, things will be all right. As he begins his walk on water, he's like a baby taking first steps towards Mom or Dad, but then, he takes his eyes off Jesus, and down he goes. Jesus reaches out to him and pulls he up, and as He does says, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" The story ends with all worshipping Jesus as they realized that indeed, Jesus is the Son of God.
We of little faith could do so much more is we strengthened our faith and dealt with our doubt. We can do things even in the midst of some of life's greatest stories coming towards us. Those should not scare us or make us doubt; we must keep our focus on Jesus. Jesus is there, offering His hand to us, and we should walk confidently and boldly towards Him, and all will be alright. Life is hard enough without us having to make it harder with our doubts. Doubts can serve to make us stronger if we but keep our eyes on Jesus!
PRAYER: Loving God, I pray for this dear reader and whatever storms s/he is going through right now. Help them keep their eyes on You and not on the storm. Give us courage and boldness. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Bless someone by keeping your eyes on Jesus!
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Requests: Mr. Larry Ehrig of Gonzales is undergoing surgery today in San Antonio. Please pray for he and his family as he faces this. Mr. Doug Smith of Wimberley awaits further tests on Tuesday for a medical condition he may be facing. Pray for healing for these and for those you know and love. Thank you!
