Have you ever stopped to think…
How DID Peter walk on the water?
We know that he did
And that he began to sink
And Jesus rescused him
Because the Bible says so
In Matthew 14
But I must admit that
I grew up with the picture
That Peter simply got out of the boat
And started to walk towards Jesus
After a while of walking on the water
He became aware of his surroundings
And panicked…
And began to sink
But I’m not sure that is what happened…
“And when Peter had come down
out of the boat,
he walked on the water
to go to Jesus.”
(Matthew 14:29)
It says that Peter came DOWN
Out of the boat
If he was coming DOWN
Surely his eyes were DOWN too
Towards the water
Surely he was thinking about WHERE
He was going to put his feet
And as he took those first few steps
His eyes were still looking at the water
The water that HE was walking on
It is true that he was moving
In the direction of Jesus
But wouldn’t you and I
Be concentrating on our footsteps
Upon the water
And surely Peter was too
It was only when he got
A bit of a distance from the boat
And was no longer benefitting
From the protection of the boat
That he became aware of the
Boisterous conditions
“But when he saw that the
wind was boisterous,
he was afraid;
and beginning to sink
he cried out, saying,
“Lord, save me!””
(Matthew 14:30)
Peter walked on the water
Because Jesus told him he could
When Jesus said, “Come”
And Peter DID walk on the water
But was maybe cautious
As I have said above
But standing on water
In the shade of the boat
Protected, by the boat, from the
Boisterous wind…
Was easier than when the
Circumstances changed
NOW…
Some may say…
Walking on water at ANY TIME
Is impossible for Peter
Or for anyone
Without the help of Jesus
And as true as that is
Which it is…
Peter did DO IT
But doubted
So…
In a similar way…
How do we approach things
That God is asking us to do?
Perhaps we “dip our toe in the water”
So to speak, just to see…
Give it a go, in whatever
We feel that God is leading us
As I said yesterday about
Laying hands on the sick
Maybe you should “give it a go”
Doing NOTHING will achieve nothing
But having a go
Might actually reap results
Peter tried “water walking”
Which he had some success with
But went on after the Ascension
To do mighty things
Don’t lose heart
And don’t give up
“Give it a go”