“Come!” He said. And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, and he was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”     Matthew 14:29-31 HCSB

If you know much about Peter, you know he often acted on impulse. Peter who drew his sword and cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant in John 18:10. In Matthew 26:33-35, Peter told Jesus he would die with Him but would never deny Him. We all know how that worked out. Peter initially refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet until Jesus explained to him that if he did not wash his feet, he would have no share with Jesus in John 13:6-9.  In Luke 22:33, Peter told Jesus he would go with him to both prison and death. He made a lot of promises he couldn’t keep.

Our Scripture passage shows another instance where Peter acts impulsively. Jesus had sent His disciples ahead of him by boat on the Sea of Galilee. Sometime around 3:00 in the morning they saw Him walking toward them on the sea. They were terrified, thinking it was a ghost. Jesus told them not to be afraid because it was Him. Peter then said, “Lord, if it’s You, command me to come to You on the water.”

Peter had stepped out of the boat completely trusting in Jesus to help him to walk on water. He had actually walked on water and was walking toward Jesus. As long has he focused on Jesus, he was fine. The moment he focused on the strength of the wind, he became frightened. He went from walking on water to sinking in the sea.

This is how fear overtakes our faith. When we are in trying times, we need to stay focused on Jesus. We need to stay in His word and constantly be in prayer with Him. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we begin to sink.

As we go through the battles that face us each day in a sin ravaged world, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We must trust in Him and His promises. As soon as we begin to focus on the troubles we face, we are in danger.

Have you spent too much time focusing on your troubles and not enough time focusing on your Savior? If this is the case reach for His hand. He is reaching out to you. He wants to save you. We are told in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you: Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

I am not picking on Peter; I can really identify with Him. There are times when my faith is so strong, I feel bulletproof. However, there are times when I feel as though I am sinking fast and about to drown in my troubles and sorrows.

We must remember we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Our sight should be fixed on Jesus. Our faith should be in Him. His strength is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Is Jesus calling you to step out and walk to Him? Stay focused on Him. When your fear takes hold reach out to Him, He will take hold of you. You can walk to Him on water if you just stay focused on Him and trust in Him. Or, you can sink into the sea of troubles if you choose to focus on the strength of the wind or the troubles swirling all around you.

My prayer for you today is that you walk in faith and stay focused on Him.

Have a great day!