Judges 11-12 | Luke 6:1-26

“But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’’ Matthew 14:30-31

No matter what challenges and difficulties we are facing in life that has unsettled us, we need to remember to always keep our eyes on Jesus. This was a lesson that the Apostle Peter had to learn the hard way. The story begins with Jesus making His disciples go ahead on a boat without Him as He went on a mountainside to pray by Himself. At night, the disciples encountered a storm in the middle of the lake. Then, just before dawn, Jesus started making His way towards them. Matthew 14:26-29 tells us, “When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s You,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to You on the water.’ ‘Come,’ He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus.”  

Out of all the disciples, Peter was asking Jesus to do something absolutely amazing—to allow him to walk on water. Peter had faith to get out of the boat and started walking on the water. Everything was going well until Peter looked at his circumstances, the wind around him, and took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. An important point to remember is if we want to follow Jesus Christ, we have to continue to keep our eyes on Him, so that we keep ourselves from being unsettled by the circumstances around us.  

As Peter was sinking, he cried, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30). Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter and said to him: ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matthew 14:31). The reality of Peter walking on water was not about his own ability to do so but the power of God enabling him. In other words, it was not about Peter; it was about God. Another point we must remember is not to be proud when we experience joys and victories in life because, again, it is not about us but about God. 

Although Peter started to doubt and sink, Jesus was right there to help him, to save him. In following Jesus, we must have faith in Him and keep our eyes on Him. When we put our faith in Him, He will always be there to help us and to see us through. In response, we have to be intentional and purposeful in cultivating our relationship with Him on a regular basis. 

Are we cultivating an intentional and purposeful relationship with Jesus daily?

PRAYER

Precious Jesus, I want to cultivate an intentional and purposeful relationship with You each day. Help me to keep my eyes on You as I am reminded that it is not about me but about You. Thank You, Lord.