Matthews 14:22-32
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd .23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “Tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
I love this passage because it illustrates that fact that as Christians, we live this life by faith and not by sight. When Jesus went to meet the boat, it had begun to be tossed by angry waters, He walked on water towards the boat. The disciples were already afraid because the boat had begun to toss to and fro. On top of that, here comes this figure in the distance walking on water towards the boat. By this time, they were terrified! They thought it was a ghost! But Jesus immediately told them not to be afraid and take courage. It was merely Him. Peter, still not convinced said, “prove it Jesus!!” If it’s you, beckon for me to come out the boat and meet you.
Be careful of your declarations because at some point, God is going to require you to act on them! Jesus told him, “Come on!” Paul got out of the boat and began to walk toward Jesus. As long as his eyes were upon Jesus, he stayed upright upon the water. As soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the situations around him, he began to sink. This is soo profound! Peter cried, “Save me Lord!” Jesus reached out his hand to catch him and the two climbed back into the boat. Jesus told him his faith was small and asked him why he doubted. The Bible says after they got in the boat, the winds died down.
Wow, what a wonder lesson for all of us! God told us to keep our eyes fixed upon Him and not at the circumstances around us. Those circumstances were designed for one main reason; to cause fear to develop in us! God bids us to keep our eyes squarely focused on Him and Him alone! Since He and His word are one, we are to keep our eyes on what He says in His word. As we do this, the circumstances of life won’t scare us or cause us to lose our faith.
Thank You Jesus for this lesson!
~Selah
Leslie Eaddy-Brooks 
Well stated, Leslie!!! This is a lesson that all of us need to revisit time after time. Thank you for sharing this perspective.
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