Wind. Waves. A Hand Up.

How quickly our faith can go from flying at 70 miles an hour to a full stop.

All of Jesus’ disciples were in a boat sailing across the Sea of Galilee following the feeding of the 5000. It’s the middle of the night. A huge wind is pressing against the boat and buffeting it side to side.

Jesus comes to them across the lake on foot in the middle of the night.

Yes. On foot. Walking on the surface of the water.

When the disciples saw Jesus, they were frightened out of their minds. In the darkness, they didn’t even recognize it was him at first. They thought they were seeing a ghost.

But then Jesus said to them, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid!”

And hearing those powerful words of Jesus, Peter made a bold statement: “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come on,” Jesus says.

And that’s how Peter finds himself walking on top of the water with Jesus.

He’s on top of the water, that is, until he isn’t: “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!'”

Sometimes in life we put ourselves into situations because we are excited to walk in faith, and we are confident that God will take care of us. And then something happens that frightens us out of our minds. Faith flees. Courage collapses. And we feel like we are sinking.

Fear is powerful. But do you remember what Jesus did?

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?'” (Matthew 14:31, NIV)

Be confident that when your faith flees, Jesus is also with you. He will offer you his hand. He will catch you. Jesus’ love is far more powerful than our fear.

Don’t doubt that for a minute.

Our reading for Wednesday, January 21, is Genesis 41:41 – 42:38, Matthew 14:22 – 15:9 and Psalm 12:1-8.

Header image based on "Big Waves West Wind" by Loesch, CC by 2.0