Skip to main content

In Which We Walk On Water

"Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'"

In Matthew 14:22-33, Peter experiences the miraculous. Again. Earlier in the week, John the Baptist had been beheaded. Grieving, Jesus and his disciples withdrew to a remote location for some privacy and instead encountered a crowd of needy people. Jesus had compassion on them and spent the rest of the day teaching and healing and then feeding them all a huge meal with just a few loaves and fish. Then Jesus puts his disciples into a boat and went away for some quiet prayer time.

I imagine there were some big emotions on the boat that evening. The rush of the miracle, the demands of the crowd, the ache of sadness accompanying the news about John, the fear that they could be next on Herod's list (!), and the exhaustion of such a full, demanding day...so much so that they didn't even notice the boat was drifting away from the shore and Jesus was still on the mountain!

Verse 25 tells us that it was during the fourth watch of the night, which my research indicates was around 3 a.m.  So I think maybe the disciples fell asleep immediately on the boat, slept hard, and were awake in the middle of the night. They saw Jesus walking on the water and thought he was a ghost! Jesus reassures them and Peter asks for a sign, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water."

What was it like to walk on water? To expect to splash and feel solid instead? Scripture is so simple..."Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." WHAT??? More details...please!

THEN, Peter sees the wind, feels fear, and begins to sink. Jesus immediately pulls him up and gently chastises him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"  LITTLE faith? Peter jumped out of a boat to walk on water and he has little faith?? My faith must be miniscule!

Peter teaches us a very important lesson about what real faith looks like. Big steps are easy. Jumping out of the boat only takes a moment. Walking on water, taking little steps towards Jesus, ignoring the winds and the waves at your feet are much more difficult.  
"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Day in Jaime's Homeschool (ages 10, 6, and 4)

Our days in this season of life follow a very relaxed structure. Each day has such very different demands. While I would prefer to go with the flow, whatever that may be, my kids prefer a more defined plan. They like to know what to expect at any given moment. So our daily rhythm falls somewhere between these two extremes.  My day starts between 6:30 and 7:00 AM with coffee and my Bible. I love connecting through Hello Mornings because of its grace based approach to starting my day in submission to the Lord. Through accountability, community, and Bible study I get that flexible structure I need - a big theme in my life right now! My "early riser" (the four year old) will often join me on the couch while I read. My husband makes breakfast while I enjoy a second cup of coffee and supervise morning chores. By 9 AM he is out the door to work (except when he's not...because that would be too easy.) At this point I give my kids a warning that we will start our school day at 9...
2 comments
Read more

In Which I Am Inspired

Two things really stand out to me at the end of this jam packed weekend.  First, my mom came into town to watch my kiddos while I attended a two day homeschool convention.  That act alone is not what inspires me, though I am so grateful for her willingness to help when I need her!  In the days leading up to the convention, she took us to the park to walk. We walked and rode bikes around Stoner and Overlook parks every day, sometimes twice! (we are all exhausted!)  When it comes to exercise, I have a million and one reasons not to do it. But walking around with my mom this last week I realized that it doesn't have to be complicated. I don't have to make any big commitments, or walk the track in a certain time frame, or wait for perfect weather conditions.  I just need to get out and move.  I DO need to remember to bring a first aid kit and to SHUT the doors of my car...but that's another set of issues all together. The second thing that inspired me was s...
2 comments
Read more

Dear Grayson,

As I write this, you are about 18" long and 3.2 lbs. About the size of a head of lettuce.  We have approximately 8 weeks and 5 days to go before your scheduled debut.  But here's the fun of it. Daddy and I are planning a C-section, which is traditionally scheduled about a week before the due date. That makes the countdown 7 weeks.  Now we are also dealing with some blood pressure issues, and the doctors are just hoping to get us as far along as we can. The family is starting to take bets on when you will be born. Here is what's going on... Mommy's blood pressure is high.  It's staying around 140/80.  Since the first of the year, the doctors have had me on modified bed rest, meaning that I could get up and do a little around the house, but need to take it easy.  No going to work or hard partying ;0) It really hasn't been so bad. The first week I was able to do some work from home, which kept me busy.  Then last week Atlanta had a tremendou...
2 comments
Read more