Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25-31)
It's hard to comprehend the love that God has for us. Even when we go astray and refuse to give Him all of the glory and praise that He deserve, He will always be there waiting for us.
Notice that even in the fourth watch (3am – 6am) our Lord knew exactly were His disciples were located, even though they were several miles off shore and they were in the middle of a storm. The same is true with us? No matter what time of day or night it is or where we might be, the Lord always knows where we are. If we are in the middle of a storm in life or high on a mountain top celebrating, the Lord is always there.
Notice how fearful the disciples were when they first spotted our Lord walking towards them on the water. They all cried out in fear, “It is a ghost!”. But our Lord immediately calmed them by saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.” Our Lord is always there to remove any fear that we have by putting his arms around us and telling us not to be afraid because He is with us.
When we have a personal relationship with the Lord, we want to get even closer to Him. Notice what Peter's response was, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter's love for Jesus was so great that he wanted to get even closer to Him.
This passage is so profound and even though Peter and the rest of the disciples where in the mist of a storm, with waves kicking up over the bow of their boat, the presence of the Lord was so great that they all began to loose sight of what was happening around them. All our Lord had to say was "Come", and Peter stepped out of the boat as if he were stepping onto dry land. Oh, what strong faith Peter had in that moment of history when our Lord beckoned him to come to Him.
But what happened to Peter after he stepped out of the boat and started to walk to Jesus? At first, Peter's faith in the Lord was allowing him to walk on water. This was impossible for man, but all things are possible when God is involved. Peter took his eyes off of the Lord and his faith began to fade because the devil began to cause Peter to doubt Jesus' power over nature and the law of gravity. Peter began to let his surroundings, the dangers of the stormy sea, affect him and he began to sink into the water.
Like Peter, we sometimes allow our surroundings to overwhelm us to a point were we take our focus off of our Lord. Peter began to focus on the reality of drowning in the murky waters. This is also true with us. We begin to allow ourselves to drown in life's stormy seas. The Apostle Paul warns us about how important faith is. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Everyone of us has had this "sinking feeling" sometime in our life. Whether it was from the loss of a loved one, a job, or any other thing in this world that would overwhelm us to a point where we feel that there is no hope. But like Peter, we too can cry out, "Lord, save me!", and our faithful Lord will immediately take us in His loving arms and comfort us. And our Lord said to Peter and me, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Father God, it is my prayer that when I go through the storms of life that I will remain focused on You. Lord I know that there are times in my life that the devil will put doubt in my mind, but Lord, I love you and I am so blessed to have a loving and caring Father that whatever the circumstances may be, You will always take me back and be there for me.
Notice that even in the fourth watch (3am – 6am) our Lord knew exactly were His disciples were located, even though they were several miles off shore and they were in the middle of a storm. The same is true with us? No matter what time of day or night it is or where we might be, the Lord always knows where we are. If we are in the middle of a storm in life or high on a mountain top celebrating, the Lord is always there.
Notice how fearful the disciples were when they first spotted our Lord walking towards them on the water. They all cried out in fear, “It is a ghost!”. But our Lord immediately calmed them by saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.” Our Lord is always there to remove any fear that we have by putting his arms around us and telling us not to be afraid because He is with us.
When we have a personal relationship with the Lord, we want to get even closer to Him. Notice what Peter's response was, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter's love for Jesus was so great that he wanted to get even closer to Him.
This passage is so profound and even though Peter and the rest of the disciples where in the mist of a storm, with waves kicking up over the bow of their boat, the presence of the Lord was so great that they all began to loose sight of what was happening around them. All our Lord had to say was "Come", and Peter stepped out of the boat as if he were stepping onto dry land. Oh, what strong faith Peter had in that moment of history when our Lord beckoned him to come to Him.
But what happened to Peter after he stepped out of the boat and started to walk to Jesus? At first, Peter's faith in the Lord was allowing him to walk on water. This was impossible for man, but all things are possible when God is involved. Peter took his eyes off of the Lord and his faith began to fade because the devil began to cause Peter to doubt Jesus' power over nature and the law of gravity. Peter began to let his surroundings, the dangers of the stormy sea, affect him and he began to sink into the water.
Like Peter, we sometimes allow our surroundings to overwhelm us to a point were we take our focus off of our Lord. Peter began to focus on the reality of drowning in the murky waters. This is also true with us. We begin to allow ourselves to drown in life's stormy seas. The Apostle Paul warns us about how important faith is. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Everyone of us has had this "sinking feeling" sometime in our life. Whether it was from the loss of a loved one, a job, or any other thing in this world that would overwhelm us to a point where we feel that there is no hope. But like Peter, we too can cry out, "Lord, save me!", and our faithful Lord will immediately take us in His loving arms and comfort us. And our Lord said to Peter and me, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Father God, it is my prayer that when I go through the storms of life that I will remain focused on You. Lord I know that there are times in my life that the devil will put doubt in my mind, but Lord, I love you and I am so blessed to have a loving and caring Father that whatever the circumstances may be, You will always take me back and be there for me.
2 comments:
Thanks Lloyd. I may be coming to your study late, but I'm glad to find it and the timing is good.
Thanks Sheila. Every time I feel like I am sinking in the waters of life, it is such a blessing to be able to reach out to our Lord and He will be there for us. God bless, Lloyd
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