(By Rachel Joyce)
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Mat 14:28-33).
I think Peter gets a bum rap. How many of us have risked anything like stepping out onto raging seas in order to draw close to Jesus? I admire Peter for his passion and desire to follow the Lord. I picture him stepping out of the boat, the waves high and treacherous, crashing all around him. The spray from the sea must have drenched him entirely. The wind, whipping his hair and beard, would have pummeled him, as he stood, a man alone, in a wild sea. But he wasn’t alone. His Lord was there, and that made all the difference. When he started to sink, he knew where to turn. The instant he cried to Jesus, his Savior grasped his hand firmly. There was no way Peter was going down with Jesus’ hand in his.
Sometimes we feel like Peter. The trial hits so hard that we can barely see straight and it seems like we’re going to be swallowed up by the sorrow and grief. The ferocity of the wind is unnerving and breakers are so high that sometimes that we even lose sight of our Lord’s face, but He is there. So, in faith, we hold tightly to that hand while the storm rages all around. In His presence is peace, even when life hurts. When we cannot see the end of the storm or any way out, He is there with us and will never let us go. In times like these, when the water gives way under our feet and we struggle for a foothold, we need to rest on the solid rock of Scripture.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. In the path of Your judgments, O LORD, we wait for You; Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul (Isaiah 26:3-4, 8 ESV)
Our only sure foundation is His Word. Our only hope for survival is His presence with us. Our only peace in the storms of life is Jesus.
As we cry to Him for grace, He will enable us to lay hold of Him in faith and endure, come what may. His peace will hold us securely as we trust in Him. We can rest upon the solid rock of our salvation. With our eyes upon Him, we will not be shaken; we will not be moved. Our hope is in the Lord. He is the joy of our soul and He will carry us through all life’s storms until that glorious day when we are finally home at last with Him in heaven.
But until then, as we go through the storms here, we have the unique opportunity of bringing Him glory now by trusting Him and praising Him in our hard times. So while the storms lash around us and threaten to overwhelm us, may we keep our eyes fixed on Him and hold firmly to His promises. He will not leave us. His tender love will never fail us. He is working it all out for our good.
Lord, strengthen our faith. Help us to believe Your promises and hold fast to You. Keep our eyes firmly fixed on You. And may we feel Your presence with us. You are greater than the storm. You are our strength and our peace. Our hope is in You. We praise Your name! Amen.
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