Walking On Water

When I studied these scripture in Matthew 14:23-31 about Peter walking on the Water, I began to see a nugget of truth hidden within this turn of events taking place in the lives of the disciples. It is a truth that will help us overcome as we face difficult trials that come our way from time to time in our lives.

In verse 22, Jesus is telling His disciples to enter the ship and go to the other side of the sea, while He sends the five thousand He has just fed back to their homes. After the disciples are aboard ship and the five thousand have departed, Jesus goes to the mountain to pray. My comment here is, if Jesus thought it necessary to spend all night praying, which He did (because He came walking on the water at the fourth watch, which would be four AM), then we certainly need to make prayer a very important part of our lives. How can we ever get to know our Heavenly Father if we never take the time to talk to Him.

Matthew 14:26-27

“And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them saying, Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid”.

I think most of us can relate to the disciples here, I know if I were to see someone walking on the water, I don’t think calm would describe my reaction. Jesus knew they were frightened, and He quickly calms their fear by speaking to them letting them know who He is.

Matthew 14:28

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water”.

Peter must have still had some doubts as to who it really was, because he said, “if it be you Jesus”. Peter should have known the Master’s voice by now, but he still had some doubt. We should also know the Master’s voice, but we also question it many times when we hear him speaking to us.

Matthew 14:29-31

“And He said “come”, and when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him, and said unto him “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt”.

Once Peter realized it was Jesus, he made a request to walk with Him on the water. Jesus said “come”, and Peter didn’t hesitate. Everyone knows that regardless of the condition of the water, calm as glass or boisterous, walking on any water is beyond natural laws. However, faith breaks natural laws, and we need to remember this when circumstances, situations, test and trials come our way. When there is no way out, and natural laws say, “It is hopeless”, we can walk on water by faith, because we have the Word of God to stand on just like Peter. It wasn’t the water holding Peter up, it was the Word of God and that word was “come.”

Peter was doing great until his attention was drawn to the waves, and fear gripped him. Satan came around with fear and Peter let go of his faith. Anytime we get our eyes off of what God says, our faith falters and we lose the victory, therefore, always protect your faith and be very diligent to watch for any attacks from the enemy.

Most of the time when this passage of scripture is used in a sermon, the focus is on Peter’s lack of faith , but I think we owe Peter a hand clap, because he did demonstrate great faith while all the other disciples stayed in the ship. So I want to give credit where credit is due. We can give thanks to Peter for showing us “all things are possible if we believe.”

I certainly don’t believe any child of God will ever be required to stretch their faith to walking on the sea, lake or swimming pool, but we can all learn a lesson from Peter and that is to put our trust in Jesus. Don’t allow fear to get our eyes off of God’s Word for any reason. You must deal with fear or it will overwhelm you. Fear will become a stronghold if you don’t recognize and defeat it with the Word of God. Remember the way Jesus defeated Satan when He was tempted. He said, “it is written”, quoted the Words of God, and Satan left Him.

I believe most Christians have had a water walking experience sometime in their life, I know my husband and I have had several. Of course it wasn’t walking literally on water, but the trials and temptations that come to kill or destroy you are the times you need the Word of God to hold you up, because you can sink in them as quickly as water will drown you. When these times come, you need the Master to reach out His hand and deliver you from your sea of desperation just like He stretched out His hand to Peter. When all the medical knowledge, money, and power available in the world today cannot help, thank God, we have a faithful High Priest who will hear and answer our prayer for help.

Psalms 91:14-16

“Because he (you) hath set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He (you) shall call upon me (God), and I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation”.

The three scriptures are covenant promises God made to you and I. We have His word that when we are surrounded on every side, we can walk on the water because Jesus is walking on it with us.

If you feel you have fallen short in your Christian walk, “cheer up” the Lord is not mad at you. He has great things in store for you. He loves you dearly and has provided abundantly for you.

James 1:17

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”.

Only good gifts come from God the Father, therefore, anything that kills, steals or destroys comes from our enemy.

When we look back at Peter’s life we realize he missed the mark a time or two in his life, but he finished the race as a victorious, courageous, and faithful follower of Christ. I do believe if Peter’s water walking experience had come at the end of his life, he would have walked the water successfully because he was grounded in God’s Word and was strong in faith.

With that thought I want encourage you, that you too can finish the race of life just like Peter if you continue in God’s Word, spend time with God in prayer and fellowship, taking time to listen to His voice, and allow Him to lead you in the path He has designed just for you.

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