Unexpected Hope

“When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’

And Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’”—Matthew 14:23-32

God very rarely works in ways that we expect. The disciples were exhausted. Soaked by the rain, exhausted from straining at the oars through this horrific storm, their limbs ached, and their strength was gone. The wind and rain were mercilessly pouring down on them. Adrenaline had taken over and fear controlled their thoughts. They were going to die. Physically and emotionally exhausted, they strained at the oars, clinging to the last glimmer of hope that they might make headway through the storm.

It had only been a short time ago that they had started across the lake. Adrift with their thoughts, contemplating what they had witnessed Christ do, a small wind touched the water, then the sound of rain drops. The lone sound had been the oar passing through the water, but now a multitudinous bevy of raindrops created a deafening roar from the lake and the sky. Wind, thunder and lightning broke their meditation and in just a short amount of time, what started as a leisurely boat ride, transformed into a life or death situation. The wind howls, beats the boat and tosses the waves. These men, or at least many of them were experienced fisherman. They knew what a storm of this magnitude meant and they rowed harder and harder as their clothes were drenched, their backs ached, and their eyes strained to maintain any sort of visibility. They push and pulled at the oars, but were unable to make any sort of advance to the other side. Was hope lost? As they strained at the oars, there was a glimpse of something off to the side. “I see something” one of them stammered. “What?! Is it the shore?” responded one. “No, it looks like a person...walking” shouts another so that he may be heard over the howling wind and pouring rain. “What!?” the others respond. “It looks like...it can’t be...is that Jesus?!” The figure becomes clearer and they can see that it is Jesus. “It can’t be, it has to be a, a, a ghost!” Jesus turns to address them. The rain is hitting Him to, but He does not appear to be effected. The wind blows through His hair and His cloak wrestles in the wind. He speaks to them, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

“It is Jesus” Peter mutters, but speaks up, “Lord, if it is really You, then command me to come to You.” “Come,” Jesus replies.

Peter puts one leg over the side and then swings over the other. Both legs are just above the water. The boat continues to sway back and forth and bob up and down in the water. He glances at Jesus and then looks back at the other disciples. The rain makes visibility difficult, but there is no getting over the whites in the eyes of his fellow disciples. They are staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief. Peter looks down at the water and feels the waves lapping his sandals. With a sigh and a look to Jesus he puts his arms on the edge of the boat and pushes himself off. Expecting to slide into the water, he finds both feet are firmly planted on the water. He looks at his feet and then at Jesus, in complete disbelief. He feels the wind and the rain, but his adrenaline keeps him going. He takes a step in amazement and disbelief and then another, just as the wind comes and the waves come up. He turns to see the boat bobbing up and down behind him. He jerks his head back to see Jesus, but is struck by the size of the waves and the power of the wind. His mind races and alerts him that this cannot be happening and begins to sink. First his sandal is immersed and then his tunic. He is going to die. He looks around at the water quickly enveloping him. He raises his head to Jesus and lifts up his hand to cry out, “Lord, save me!” At the moment of terror, Jesus reaches out and grabs him by the hand. Suddenly, his feet are no longer under the water and his tunic is rustling in the wind. He is on secure footing again. Hand in hand they turn to the boat and Jesus places his hands on the edge as it continues to bob, pulls himself up and then swings both legs into the boat, quickly followed by Peter. At that moment, that very moment when Jesus’ sandal touches the deck of the boat, the wind ceases. Suddenly the sound of chaos is followed by silence. The wind and rain have ceased, and the waves are stilled. The disciples, in fear, and utter disbelief, soaked to the bone, cold, and trembling, fall down in worship, “Truly, You are the Son of God.”

Jesus sees us in our difficulty. He sees us in our struggles and He comes to us in the midst of it. He comes to us in ways that we do not understand and He does things that we cannot begin to comprehend. As the old adage says, “Some times He calms the storm, other times He calms His child.” Here, He does both. He calms His child, Peter and then He calms the storm. Peter got too caught up in the circumstances around him and took his eye off of Jesus. We have all done that. The world has thrown great storms of us and we get lost it all. He gave more credence to the waves and wind than to the Lord of glory. It must have been an unbelievable feeling walking on water and then to witness Jesus’ power as he was sinking. To go from fear and joy in a few seconds had to have been overwhelming.

We know what it means to be overwhelmed by the storms of life. Whether we are tired physically, emotionally, or spiritually we are in need of Jesus’ touch and words. We need to hear, “Take heart, it is I.” His words and promises get us through. No matter how overwhelmed we are, when we call out to Him, He reaches out to us. Even at the point of disaster He is there, we need only call out to Him.

God knows exactly what storm that you are going through. He invites us to walk on the water with Him, to experience His power in the midst of it. He invites us to trust in Him. He will calm the storm and He will help us walk on water. And when we are overwhelmed and pray the prayer of Peter, “Lord, save me.” He will reach out and take hold of us, showing Himself to be God in our lives. Amen.