No Fear

“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?’”—Matthew 14:28-30

Fear is one of the greatest motivating feelings in our world. Like children afraid of shadows, we are afraid of what others think of us, afraid of failure, of not measuring up, of sickness, suffering, losing a loved one, and death. But as believers in Christ, we do not need to fear anything any longer, because Christ has conquered sin and death, giving us a grace that transforms and His Holy Spirit to continually grow our faith in the resurrected Savior.

In our passage for today, Jesus calls to Peter to “Come.” That’s what Jesus does. He calls us to come to Himself. He doesn’t call us to create the world or to be profound. He doesn’t call us to be beautiful or talented. He just calls us, right where we are, right at that moment. It is in the obedience that the blessing comes. It is not in the contemplation or in the preparation, but in the obedience.

Peter steps on to the water defying all of the laws of gravity and physics. Why? Because the one who calls Him has the authority over all things, natural and supernatural, for all things are created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). Jesus is the authority, the sole authority, and He is the one who put the laws into place, and He can suspend them or violate them or do whatever He wishes because they are subject to Him.

Peter experiences one of the greatest moments ever recorded in history. He walked on water with Jesus. It wasn’t because of who he was, but because of Jesus who called him. God calls us to come and experience the blessing of obedience, having our faith to overcome our fear. He calls us to come and experience the wonder of who He is. He calls us to Himself. He calls us and we must be obedient. To not obey is to forfeit the blessing of seeing Christ be God in our lives. After all, we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

But Peter, like us, doubted. Doubt sinks into despair as Peter slowly slithers into the ocean of his own fear and disbelief. Even in the midst of obedience, waves of doubt wrestled for the faith of the disciple. As his faith washed away in the waves of fear, and at the moment of despair, Christ’s hand reached out and grabbed the wavering disciple, saving him from death and destruction. He chastised Peter’s doubt and then put the waves at rest. Faith defeated fear, and the Savior short-circuited Peter’s short-lived doubt.

Don’t let the crisis of circumstance diminish your faith in Christ. Know that God calls us each to take a step of obedience that may seem odd to us at first, but when we take that step, He will show Himself to be God in our lives.

What is God calling us to? Is He calling us to be bold at our workplace for Him? Is He calling us to serve at our church in some greater capacity? Is He calling us to come away with Him and be refreshed? Is He calling us to go deeper in life with Him? Fearful though we may be, we must take that step, just like Peter. We might have fear, fear of failing, but God is with all of those who will follow Him in obedience. With Him, we need not fear failure, because when our focus is on Him, it is impossible to fail. He calls us to step out of the boat, to focus on Him, and He will bless and bless us more than we can possibly imagine. Amen.