“But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:30)
You know those moments when you feel like you are so weak and so beat down that you cannot even muster up the strength to pray? Or perhaps you’ve had moments when you were so anxious about the overwhelming circumstances in your life that you could not even consider the idea to pray. Ironically, these are the times when we need prayer the MOST!
In Matthew 14:22, we see that Jesus told the disciples to get into their boat and head to other side of the sea while He went up the mountain to pray alone. In verse 24, we are told that the boat was stuck in a storm in the middle of the sea:
“ But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.”
Then, in verse 25, we read about Jesus coming to the disciples by walking on the water.
I find it interesting that Jesus was the One who sent the disciples out in the first place. He knew there would be a storm. Why would He send them out? Have you experienced this in your own life? Have you gone where Jesus has sent you only to discover a big storm? If you keep reading, you begin to understand that Jesus had a purpose in sending the disciples out to sea. He was going to use this situation to teach them something great.
The boat was already a long distance from the land, seemingly unreachable, and violently being battered by the waves. It appeared as if the boat was a lost cause, dominated by the sea. BUT, this did NOT stop Jesus from finding and coming to the boat! He still came!
Sometimes I feel like I am too far “gone” for Jesus to find me or save me. I feel as if the waves are too big and I am too lost or too broken. This simply is not true. Jesus can and will meet us where we are. No waves are too big for Him and no distance is too great for Him!
In verse 28, Peter wants to clarify that it is Jesus by saying, “If it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus’ response is simply, “Come!”
Notice that Jesus did not calm the waves before He told Peter to come. He told him to come in the midst of the stormy conditions. Sometimes Jesus calls us to Him in the midst of the wind and waves. This requires some faith… to obey Jesus’ call even if there are waves. He may call us into stormy conditions, but He ALWAYS ENABLES us to walk above the waves.
Initially, Peter has faith and walks on the water. But as soon as he notices the wind and takes his eyes off of Jesus, he is frightened and instantly sinks. Peter was fine when his eyes were fixed on Jesus. It was not until he began to pay attention to the circumstances around him that he started to sink with fear. Focusing on our stormy circumstances causes fear and fear is paralyzing.
Why pay attention to the circumstances when we cannot do a thing to change them? They did not harm Peter UNTIL he paid attention to them.
This is the cool part… even when the stormy conditions and waves began to harm Peter, it only took three simple words for him to receive help from Jesus: LORD, SAVE ME!
“Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him…”
As soon as we cry out for help, Jesus IMMEDIATELY reaches out and pulls us up. Peter did not pray a beautifully fluffy prayer. He probably said the first words that came to mind! That’s all Jesus required of him. The waves were not too big for Jesus to rescue Peter. NO circumstances are too great for Jesus to reach out and pull us up.
Jesus will FIND you wherever you are, even if you feel like you are lost at sea.
Jesus will ENABLE you to walk above even the largest waves.
And, if you do begin to sink with fear, He will PULL you out when He hears you cry, “Lord, save me!” Even a short prayer with just a tiny bit of faith will be enough for Him. He is more concerned with the QUALITY of the faith than the QUANTITY of faith.
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and ignore the stormy conditions. If you do start to sink, cry out to Him. He WILL rescue you and He WILL teach you through it.
I love this song and feel like it correlates perfectly with Peter’s experience:
lovinglypressed 