Sometimes Christ Calls Us to Walk on the Water - But He Never Asks Us to Stay There

I was recently thinking through the account in Matthew 14:22-33 in which Peter, following Christ’s call, gets out of the boat and momentarily walks on the stormy sea. I’d like to make a few simple observations that I think may encourage some of you as you are daily walking with Christ.
We can all agree with great confidence that God allows His followers to go through times of trial to help develop their faith and character (James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-7). But going through times of trials is not for our own benefit alone, but more importantly they are opportunities for us to see God at work in our lives so that we can testify to His goodness and faithfulness and make much of Him. Notice first in this passage that God allows the faith of all of His followers to be challenged. Verse 24 “But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered [literally tormented] by the waves; for the wind was contrary.” Verse 26 “When the disciples saw Him [Jesus] walking on the sea, they were terrified . . . and they cried out in fear.” Peter wasn’t the only one out on the sea that night. All of the disciples were in the boat which was being tormented by the wind and the waves and all of the disciples were frightened by what they perceived to be a ghost approaching their boat on the water. So don’t be surprised when times come and your faith is challenged by the situations or the circumstances in your life. God hasn’t forgotten you or singled you out – God allows everyone’s faith to be challenged at one time or another. But notice secondly that God reminds us of His presence with us in our times of trial. In verse 27 Jesus recognizes their fear and calls out to them “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” We can count on God’s presence with us when we go through trials and challenges to our faith. Notice thirdly that sometimes God calls individuals to endure greater challenges to their faith than other individuals around them. This is the part we probably don’t like to think about. In verse 28 Peter makes what seems to be a crazy statement. He says to Jesus, if it is really You, “command me to come to you on the water.” (Remember that the sea is incredibly rough – the waves are tormenting the boat. There is very little comfort and security for the disciples while they are on the boat. Who would ever say to God, “I’ve got very little comfort and security in my life as it is right now, now command me to get rid of that little sense of comfort and security and enter an even greater challenge to my faith”?) Then Jesus calls to Peter specifically (not to all the disciples) to get out of the boat and do the impossible – walk on a raging sea. Notice that this is a specific call to a specific individual. Though it appears that Peter suggested it, the text reveals that Peter did not get out of the boat until Christ made the call to come. Without doubt, it took extraordinary faith to get out of that boat. But the challenge wasn’t only to get out of the boat, it was also to walk on a raging sea. It appears that Peter may have started well, but soon His focus left the Savior and became fixed on the elements of trouble around him – the wind and the waves. When this happened we all know what the results were – Peter began to sink. This brings us to a fourth important point in this passage: when we find ourselves in the midst of extreme challenges to our faith God wants us to stay focused on Him, not on the troubles around us. But if (and probably more likely, ‘when’) we begin to sink in the midst of our troubles and extreme challenges, God doesn’t simply remind us of His presence, but fifthly God acts as our Savior and He lifts us up. I love verse 31, “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.” We can lose sight of Christ and doubt, just like Peter did, and because God is gracious and full of loving kindness for His children, He doesn’t watch us sink but rather He grabs hold of us and lifts us up!
Verse 32 gets me to the original point that I was hoping to encourage you with and why I titled this blog post the way I did. The Bible teaches us that we are always to live in dependence on God, but the reality is that sometimes we a forced to realize this in the midst of extreme challenges to our faith. Verse 32 says that when they got back into the boat, the wind stopped. The challenges to faith that Peter and the rest of the disciples experienced that night were momentary challenges. Jesus eventually brought all that was testing their faith in this encounter to an end and gave them great rest and comfort. As humans we were not created to live and/or walk on the water. We live and walk on the land. That doesn’t mean that there will not be times when God calls us to walk on the water – but when He does remember to keep your eyes on Christ and know that eventually the trials and challenges will end. God is gracious and if He has called you right now into a time of great trial He will not make you stay there forever. Know that He will also bring to you times of peace, comfort, and rest.
Read those points in bold once again and remember that God will bring times of rest and refreshment for your soul. I hope that encourages you today! And I hope you respond as the disciples did in verse 33; “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’”