The story is told in Matthew chapter 14 of Jesus' disciples on the sea of Galilea, battling for their lives in a terrible storm. In the struggle they spot Jesus walking on water towards them. Frightened that it may be a ghost, Peter asks that if it is indeed Jesus, that He would ask Peter to walk out unto the angry seas to go to Him. Jesus tells him to come, and so Peter gets out of the boat and walks towards Jesus. At first he is going great, but then he takes his eyes of Jesus and catches sight of the angry waves beating at him, whipped up by the violent winds. Fear and doubts overwhelm him, driving out his trust in Jesus’ protection to save, and he begins to sink. As he is sinking, he lifts his eyes from the angry waves and fixing them on Jesus, crises “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately comes to his side, reaches out his hand and, catching him, takes him back to the safety of the boat. What a lesson for us to consider! Why should we allow the storms of our lives to drown out our faith in Jesus and take our hope of eternal life away?
Friends, we can walk the furious storms of this life if Jesus is our focus! No matter how great your storm, cast your eyes on Christ, never let go! However, if you do, there’s another beautiful lesson in this story. You see, the moment Peter asked for help, Jesus immediately was there to help him. None of this, I’ll take my time to come over, but immediately! This teaches us the love and merciful compassion of our dear Saviour. No matter how deep you may be engulfed in the waves of sin and despair, no matter how great may be the storms of your life threatening to drown you, if you would just be call out to Him, He will immediately be there to lift you and save you out of all your troubles!
Do you believe this? Let us today grasp hold upon the promise of our Saviour, Heb 13:5 "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5.
