Faith at Sea

The disciples experienced one of the great sea adventures of all time. This was no fish tale. They saw Jesus walk on water.  Late afternoon, having fed the multitude with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish, Jesus sent the disciples to the other side of the sea. Flash forward 10 hours, and the disciples are in a fight for their life. In the early morning hours, somewhere between 3am and 6am, in the middle of the sea, the waves crashed against the boat. The men were fighting for their lives, rowing with all they had. The wind was fierce and the boat was tossed about. Wet, tired, afraid, and still several miles from shore. When things were at their worst, one of the men look over and couldn't believe his eyes. A man – walking on the water. “Is that…? Wait, a ghost?!” Not quite. The commentators give the disciples a hard time for being so foolish. A ghost? Really? But what would you have thought? Have you ever seen someone walking on the water? Yes, it was a silly thing to think, but they were probably 20 hours into their day, exhausted, fighting for their life in the wee hours of the morning.

But, of course it was the Lord Jesus, flesh and blood. His real, physical body, was truly walking on top of the water. I’ve tried to imagine what I would have said or done. I’m pretty sure I would not have asked to join him. But that’s exactly what Peter did, and Jesus granted him the privilege. But when Peter turned his eyes from Jesus, and looked at the dangers, he began to sink. He cried for the Lord to save him, and Jesus stretched out his hand and rescued him. Jesus asked Peter, " O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Good question. Why do you doubt? When you doubt your salvation, or doubt the Bible, you are doubting Jesus, but why? What has Jesus ever said that would give you a reason to doubt him? What has Jesus ever done, to give you pause in trusting him? What promise has he gone back on? What way has he failed? There is no good reason to doubt Jesus. You may say, "I don't doubt Jesus, I doubt myself!"  But why are you trusting in yourself?  Peter looked at the waves and began to doubt, but why? Peter didn't have the power to walk on the sea, and he didn't have the power to say above water. From the beginning to the end, the power was with Christ. Peter actually doubted the ability of the Lord to see him all the way through. "I doubt whether I'm saved, not Jesus." Who saved you? Whose work are you trusting in, your work or the Lord's? Stop doubting and start believing. Trust in the Lord Jesus, the perfect Saviour of the elect. "Heaven and earth may pass away, but Jesus never fails".