Faith at Three in the Morning

“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he 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?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:29-32

In Matthew 14, we find the disciples caught in a terrible storm at three in the morning. The storm is raging and they see what appears to be a ghostly man walking on the water. It’s not a ghost, it’s Jesus. He calls out to them and says, “Do not be afraid.”

And it’s Peter who responds, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, and walk on the water.” Jesus’ answer: “Yes, walk out to me, Peter.”

And so Peter starts walking. Can you picture those first steps? Were they taken nervously, quickly, or strongly? I can’t wait to see the replay of that moment in heaven one day. But at some point, Peter’s eyes shift from Jesus to the wind and waves. And this is where reason and logic become like an anchor to faith, dragging Peter down. Peter sees winds and waves around him. His reason and logic begin to take over as he realized this just can’t even be possible.

Now, having faith doesn’t mean we throw our brains out. But on the other hand, I think oftentimes, in life’s storms, some of my best thinking, logic and reasoning get in the way of faith and trust in Jesus. When I feel the water splashing over my feet or the wind blowing me back, I start to reason that these steps and the miracle pathway through the storm are too good to be true. And about that time is when I find that the water is now up around my waist. When our own reason and logic become the biggest barometer of our walk through this life, we will never walk on water. It wasn’t logic that got Peter out of that boat in the first place. It was Jesus. Why do we doubt Him? We have no reason or support for such a belief.

Peter sinks and cries out, “Save me, Lord!” I picture him taking a big breath as his head goes under and his hand strains up. Jesus immediately grabs him and lifts him up. Then comes the statement and the question from Jesus, “You have little faith. Why did you doubt Me?”

How about you? Is the water beneath your feet right now or are you just keeping your head above the water line? Keep your eyes on Jesus, He won’t let you drown.

This is discipleship. Following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and committing to the mission of Jesus.