Walking On Water - For A While!
Walking On Water - For A While
Dr. Vince Hefner, Pastor
First Baptist Church, Cherryville, NC
Matthew 14: 29-31 says, “And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I believe a great number of Christians can identify with the disciple Simon Peter. He was quick to speak, and quick to act concerning Jesus Christ. When he saw Jesus walking on the water nothing would suit him until he walked on the water with Jesus. I have always admired Simon Peter for his willingness to step out and do something that required faith. He did walk on water, even if it was for only a while!
I have never tried to walk on water but I have had to step out on faith and believe that God would keep me from falling. I honestly believe most Christians have at one time or another taken this step of faith in their lives. This certain time comes when we are facing something bigger than ourselves and we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we cannot do it alone. We realize that in order to move forward in life that we place our faith in God through Jesus Christ and we begin to walk by faith.
The Scripture came to my mind as I was wrestling with certain challenges in my life. There was nothing that was life threatening, but just some small worries that had worked themselves up to something big in my mind. So, on Monday morning at 4:30 a.m. I was wide-awake. I didn’t even want to watch television. I was facing a week full of activities that left me wondering how in the world I was going to get everything accomplished. I had made the same mistake that Simon Peter had made almost 2000 years ago. He took his eyes off the source of his faith and placed them on the source of his problems. As long as Simon Peter kept his eyes upon Jesus, regardless if he was on dry ground or even water, things worked out. However, the moment Simon Peter took his eyes off of Jesus he began to falter. The same results await anyone who take their eyes off of Jesus and place them anywhere else.
I believe that Simon Peter had an advantage in his testing of faith. When he was walking on water he was doing something that he had never done before and he knew that he needed Jesus’ help. He knew the moment he started sinking into the water that he was in trouble. However, he was in trouble the moment he took his eyes off of Jesus and started looking at the circumstances that made him sink into the water. Here is the advantage for Simon Peter that most of us have never had in our lives. When he was on top of the water he knew immediately when he starting sinking and he was willing to cry out for help. I will make an educated guess and say that most of us have never walked on water….even for a while; most of our faith testing comes on the ground. When we begin to take our eyes off of Jesus the scenery may not change for a while, we certainly don’t begin to sink into the ground, so we can walk through life for some time thinking everything is candy and nuts! However, before you know it you are estranged from your Lord, your family, and maybe even your church because you have had your eyes on the wrong person; yourself!
How about your life today? Are you sinking and don’t even know it? If your stomach is in knots about the worries of life then chances are you are looking at the source of you problems instead of the source of your solutions! It is good to know when we cry out for help, Jesus comes to our rescue. Remember, don’t give in to sin. Think about it!