28And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
29He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.
30But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]!
31Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33And those in the boat knelt and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God! (Matthew 14)
Reading this again, I was struck by how well it describes the life of a person of strong faith:
Peter had the strength to take a step out on the water. The eleven others in the boat did not. They were overwhelmed by the current conditions of the world around them.
Peter concentrated on Christ. Despite the ravages of the storm, his desire to be with Jesus was his central focus, and he begged to join. And Jesus called him closer.
And Peter did walk on water. He stepped out of the boat onto the tossing waves. He was successful.
He was also only human. Despite his great faith, he stumbled. He fell. He failed. Even as he came closer to Christ, he was ultimately unable to overcome the world around him. He stumbled and began to sink into the sea.
Did Jesus slap him in the face? Rebuke him with vigor as he watched him drown?
No. He reached out His hand and helped Peter overcome his human frailty and failure.
Jesus did point out Peter’s weakness but after He had saved him.
Jesus quieted the storm, and they all worshipped Him.
Peter was a man of strong faith, perhaps stronger than all those around him, because it was he alone who stepped out of the boat despite the fear that had seized them all.
But even with his great faith, he still failed.
Jesus understood the weakness of Adam after the fall in Eden. He reached out His hand and gave Peter aid and comfort.
And the ordeal – the storm and the recognition of the limitations of his faith – only led Peter to worship Christ more.
This is the story of people of faith…
We always remain weak, despite our best intentions, but God understands that. He is there to help us even in the darkest moments. And our darkest moments should lead us closer to Him in fellowship…
