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| "Jesus Walks on Water" by Alexandre Bida |
TO CHEW ON: "And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You command me to come to You on the water.'" - Matthew 15:28.
Why does Peter want to do this? Does he genuinely need proof that this is Jesus? Or is it out of a spontaneous outburst of crazy relief at seeing Jesus in the midst of the storm? Or maybe he's wanting to impress Jesus and the others? Or perhaps he asks Jesus' permission to walk on the water in a spirit of exuberant "Me too!" as when kids see their dad swing a sibling in circles and they want to get in on the thrill? For it seems to me that his walking on water was entirely unnecessary. Peter meeting Jesus on the water served no purpose except...
He started out well, but in the end, when his rational observation kicked in and he realized what he was doing and shouldn't be able to do, his faith wavered and he started to sink.
I don't know the physics of faith in God and how it interplays with the natural world. But this seems to be a real-life example of that taking place. And what started out as an impetuous act of Peter's did serve a purpose in the end, when it became a life lesson. For I'm sure that when Peter was in an impossible situation after that, he often hearkened back to his walk-on-water almost-debacle and heard again Jesus' words: "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
This story reassures me that with God nothing is wasted. He can use even our unthought-through enthusiasm, our 'I don't know why I did that' moments for His purposes.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for this example of faith in action, played out by impetuous Peter. Help me to ask the question You asked Peter when I feel like I'm sinking in the middle of my storms. Amen.
MORE: Thoughts about faith
"Faith is the master, and reason the maid-servant." - Martin Luther
"It is not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt." - Fyodor Dostoyevski
"Faith is the refusal to panic." - David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
"I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe." - Smith Wigglesworth
Read more faith quotes at Tentmaker.org - Faith and Doubt quotes.
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