“Oh you of little faith, why do you still doubt Me?” Jesus asks Peter. Just the day before, Jesus was preaching to over 5000 people near the Sea of Galilee. In order to feed the people Jesus has the disciples try to find food. They come up with only 2 fish and 5 small loaves of bread. Jesus has them put these in a basket and start distributing food to the multitude. They never run out of food and after everyone is full, they gather up 12 baskets of leftovers. The disciples witnessed this miracle, yet the bible says they did not fully understand it. They knew Jesus was special, but their hearts were hard and they did not realize He was the Son of God. Then Jesus dismisses the crowd, tells the disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee ahead of Him to another town, while He goes up to the mountain to pray.
Early in the morning of the next day, the wind became quite strong , the waves were becoming very high and the disciples who were fishermen were aware that the boat could capsize at any moment. Then just before the sun arose, they spotted a man walking on the water stepping from wave to wave. They were terrified. “It’s a ghost” they said. Then Jesus spoke to them “it is I, do not be afraid.” Then Peter who was still unsure said, “Lord if it is really You, command that I can walk over to You,” and Jesus said “Come.” He got out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus. Can you imagine the amazement of the disciples at this point? Do we also realize that if we had enough faith in Jesus, we could accomplish what seems impossible?
But then Peter who was walking on the water probably thought to himself, “what the heck am I doing here, people aren’t meant to walk on water,” and he realizing how high the waves were, started being afraid and took his eyes away from Jesus. At that point he started sinking and he cried out to Jesus what is probably the world’s shortest prayer, “Lord save me.” And Jesus did. “Oh you of little faith, why do you still doubt Me?” he asked Peter.
At some time in our lives we will find ourselves in situations where we feel it is too much for us to handle and we become afraid. Then we must remember that nothing is too big for Jesus. He is the creator of the universe who has power over all things. If Jesus is in your boat, all is well. He loves us and wants what is best for us.
When Jesus got Peter in the boat, the disciples realized for the first time that Jesus was the Son of God and they worshiped Him . After they saw Peter walking on the water they knew that Jesus would do the same for them and that with their faith in Jesus, nothing would be impossible for them. Jesus can do amazing things through you if you will allow Him and put all your trust in Him, and never take your eyes away from Him.
Lloyd Lapierre
