Peter! Don't Take Your Eyes Off Jesus!

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

 

Matthew 14:22-36 Tells the story of when Jesus had finished feeding the 5,000, He instructed his disciples to go ahead of Him in their boat, and he would meet them on the other side. The disciples got in their boat as Jesus had instructed and proceeded to take sail. After they had been at sail, they saw something that looked like a ghost and became fearful. However, they were soon to realize that it was Jesus. Peter then asked the Savior if he could step out onto the water as well. Jesus told him to come and Peter began walking on water. Nevertheless, Peter began to take notice that there was a strong wind and fear gripped his heart. Peter began to sink. Jesus, however, did not allow Peter to be succumbed by the lack of faith that He displayed, but He reached out His hand to pull Peter to safety.

Many times in life, there are situations when we will see Jesus in action, but doubt, mistrust, and fear will crowd out the faith that we normally would have had. We allow “life” to dictate how much we trust in God. We know that God can work miracles and have even been a witness to such, but the doubt still tends to creep in. We may say, “Well, I know that God is able, but will He do it THIS time?” So we continued to pray and asked God for a resolution to a situation, but because of our doubt, we have voided out what we just prayed. James 1:6-7 says, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. We cannot expect God to move in our lives when we doubt the very thing that we asked for him to do.

Peter allowed his situation to get the best of him. He took notice of the wind and allowed it to take his spiritual eyes off Jesus. He allowed what was going on all around him to dictate how he felt and therefore, he lost faith. However, Jesus did not let him sink. He rescued him and brought him to safety. Faith and fear cannot reside in the same space. God and the demon of doubt cannot occupy the same space. One will win and one will have to leave, but they both cannot be present in order for the Spirit to work. If Peter had not taken his eyes off of Jesus, he never would have begun to sink.

God wants us to have faith and trust that whatever situation we find ourselves in, He will see us through it. Now, this doesn’t mean to go against God’s laws and expect that He will always rescue us from it. However, it does mean that whenever we have difficulties in life, we don’t have to be afraid and doubt. Even if we do mess up, we can have faith in God that He will deliver us from the evil that has fell upon us. God is always waiting for an opportunity to bless His children. This is why we have scriptures in the Bible that teach us about the struggles of others such as the Children of Israel being set free from Egypt, manna and quail from heaven, Noah and the ark, Daniel in the lions’ den and so many others. These are not just good stories to read, but they are stories that can help us in our spiritual growth when it comes to faith.

The Bible’s stories let us know that if God did it before, He can do it again. God is the same God now that He was back then. We as people may change and evolve, but God doesn’t. He may just take new ways to do the same things that He did during the times of old. If God let rescued the Children of Israel from the Egyptians’ bondage, He can rescue you from your bondage. If He sent them food from heaven, He can provide your needs as well. If you are in a troublesome situation, He can rescue you just as He did with Daniel. There is nothing that God can’t do if you have the faith just the size of a mustard seed.  Never take your eyes off of Jesus. Only then will you begin to sink. God bless!