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. Matthew 14:25-29
Peter is one of the most relatable characters in Scripture for me. His zeal cannot be denied, but he sometimes got ahead of himself, leading to several humbling moments of failure. One of the most memorable examples of this is found here in Matthew 14:22-33 when Jesus invited Peter to come to Him on the storm-tossed waters of the Sea of Galilee.
After Jesus sent the disciples on their way across in a boat, a storm arose and was tossing their ship in the middle of the sea. As this was happening, Jesus approached them, walking on the water. Knowing human beings cannot walk on water, they became troubled and assumed they were seeing a ghost. Jesus identified Himself to them and urged them to be of good cheer. No account is given of the other eleven disciples’ immediate response, but Peter asked the Lord to give him the ability to walk on the water as well, a request Jesus immediately granted.
We all know how the rest of the story played out, right? Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water to Jesus. However, he got dispirited by the intensity of the winds, and when he shifted his focus from Jesus to the troubled waters, he began to sink. Once he recognized his perilous position, he cried out to Jesus for help, so Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to safety. In the aftermath of this event, Jesus replied with His common refrain, “Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Another instance of “impetuous Peter” getting out over his skis and learning a humbling lesson, right?
While it is true that Peter fell short of his mark, and he certainly was humbled by Jesus’ reply, there is much we can learn from this event. First, no one else stepped out of the boat onto the water. Do we take this to mean that, though Peter had “little faith,” the others had even less? It is uncertain, but it begs the question, do we have sufficient faith in Christ to “step out of the boat,” or will we be more like the eleven who simply observed the event?
Second, Peter showed us what is necessary for us to do the impossible in pursuit of Christ and His will. I do not mean any of us can walk on water if we believe strongly enough, but there are spiritual challenges that we may find as daunting as this storm the disciples faced. What Peter showed us is that, if we are to conquer such hindrances, we must keep our eyes on Jesus (cf. Hebrews 12:1-2). Peter could have walked clear across the sea if he had kept his eyes fixed on Jesus instead of looking at the threats surrounding him. The same is true for us in our spiritual challenges.
Third, Peter taught us what our immediate response must be when we lose focus and start to sink. He did not scratch and claw and fight to get himself back into the boat first. He immediately cried out to Jesus to save him, and the Lord lifted him to safety. Trying to save ourselves by our own strength is sure to make us drown in the end. This does not mean we have nothing to do to be saved by His might, but it means we must remember that He alone has the power to win the victory for us. Armed with this knowledge, we should be ready to “step out of the boat” now. Is our faith strong enough to take that step?