Walking on the Water

“Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” — Matthew 14:27

After Jesus fed the five thousand, He told His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the lake. Then He sent the crowd home and went up a mountain by Himself to pray.

When night came, Jesus was still on the mountain, alone. And the disciples’ boat was far out on the lake, being battered by the waves, because the wind was blowing hard against it. They were rowing and rowing, but getting nowhere.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus came out to them. He was walking on the water!

When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they cried out in fear.

But Jesus spoke to them straight away. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter called out, “Lord, if it’s really You, tell me to come to You on the water.”

“Come,” said Jesus.

So Peter climbed over the side of the boat, and stood on the water, and walked towards Jesus! He was walking on the water too!

But then Peter looked at the wind and the waves all around him. He became afraid. And as soon as he was afraid, he began to sink.

“Lord, save me!” Peter cried.

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind stopped.

Then the disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus. “Truly You are the Son of God!” they said.

Peter did something none of the other disciples dared to do. He got out of the boat! As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on the water. But when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm, he started to sink.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus and trust Him, we can do things we never thought possible. When we look at our problems instead, we start to sink.

But even when Peter sank, Jesus didn’t let him go under. The moment Peter cried, “Lord, save me!”, Jesus reached out and caught him.

When we’re sinking, all we need to do is call out to Jesus. His hand is always close enough to catch us.

Read it in your Bible: Matthew 14:22–33

Dear Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on you, not on the storms around me. And when I start to sink, thank you that I can call to you, and you will catch me. Amen.