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There is something about people who have faith.
It might not be as noticeable on the outside. On the outside, they might look the same as anyone else.
But inside, there is something different. People with faith live with a greater power inside of them.
Faith opens your heart to God and connects you with God’s power. With God’s power, you can do wonderful things way beyond your own power and capability.
But even people with great faith can stumble and fall when life’s big storms hit them.
When Peter first stepped out of the boat, he stepped out with faith. He stepped into the stormy water and began walking on water! He experienced the power of faith.
When faith is alive in you, you experience the wonderful presence of God. You feel like you can handle anything. You can walk on water and do amazing things.
But when Peter noticed the strong wind, fear took over and he began to sink.
Faith is wonderful. But it does not exist in a vacuum. It exists with the realities of life.
In real life, we do our best to control our situation. When things are in control, you feel more at ease. But sometimes, storms come and hit you unexpectedly. You’re not prepared for the unexpected things life throws at you.
When that happens, our faith gets shaken.
During our summer camp, one of the highlights was swimming. There’s no better way to beat the summer heat than to enjoy time in the water. But the weather has to be good. So we planned all of our swimming around the weather.
One day, it was forecast to rain late in the afternoon. We checked the forecast every hour, and it seemed like we would be safe to swim.
But lo and behold, toward the end of our swim time, the skies darkened and rain drops began to come down. We quickly got everyone out of the pool to change.
That’s when the skies opened up. Thunder crackled. Kids got startled, and some even began to cry.
It was interesting, because the whole theme of our camp was to Be Bold. They truly believed the verses we learned: “When I am afraid, God makes me bold!” and “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, because God is with you!”
But in that moment, fear overtook and overpowered their faith.
That describes our life of faith really well.
Storms come upon us unexpectedly. They make us afraid. That shakes our faith.
It’s not the problems and challenges themselves that are the issue. It’s the fear that they create in you.
Fear has its own power. It takes on a life of its own. It can take over your heart and your mind.
Jesus came to the disciples in the storm.
But they couldn’t recognize him. The disciples thought they were seeing a ghost and they became even more terrified.
When fear takes over your heart, it becomes a bad cycle of generating even more fear. That’s what happened to the disciples. Instead of being reassured by Jesus, they felt more fear.
Each person reacts to fear in a different way.
But the result is the same: fear has the power to drown out faith when it takes over your heart.
It is a very humbling experience to go through life’s difficulties. I understand Peter. How can you not notice the strong winds around you?
When big storms come upon you, they are so large. You can’t take your eyes off of them. It’s hard to focus on anything else.
When you have faith, you feel like you can walk in water and do anything. But when strong winds surround you, fear takes over. You feel powerless. Faith gets drowned out by the fear, the worries, the uncertainties the storms bring.
If today’s story was mainly about Peter, it would just be another reminder of our weak faith.
But this is NOT a story about Peter. He is a part of the story but not the main character. The main character is Jesus.
This is the famous story of Jesus walking on water.
People get caught up in the miracle and phenomenon of Jesus walking on water. It certainly is a fascinating image. But it’s easy to misunderstand this story.
People lose the meaning of it by focusing on that.
The story is not about the phenomenon of Jesus walking on water. It’s about WHY he was walking on water. What was he walking on water for?
The boat was lost in the deep water. Strong winds were tossing the boat about. Waves were battering it.
Yet despite that mighty storm, Jesus came to them. Jesus even walked on water to get to them! Not even the storm could not stop Jesus. Jesus was more powerful than the storm.
When storms in life come, they make us afraid. They weaken hearts and weaken faith.
But God walks through the storm to save you. Nothing can keep God away from you.
That was the message God shared through the prophet Isaiah. When the Israelites lost their land, their homes, their everything – they were very afraid. They felt alone and abandoned. The future seemed dark.
But God spoke these reassuring words:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 42:1-2)
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. You will not drown in the storms of life. I will be with you.
Jesus kept that promise when he came to the disciples.
He told them:
Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. (Matthew 14:27)
God promises that no matter what you’re going through, you will not be alone. God will be with you.
Fear overwhelmed Peter’s faith. But in the end, it was not Peter’s faith that saved him. It was Jesus’ hand.
All that Peter had was a desperate cry:
Lord, save me!
That is good news for us. It’s not about your faith. It’s about God’s grace.
When you are lost; When you’re drowning in your problems; When you’re in the depths of despair; All you have is a desperate cry: Lord, save me!
But that is good enough.
God’s love and grace will save you.
On that swimming day, the people who had already changed found shelter under a gazebo. It was raining hard. As other kids finished changing, counsellors with umbrellas began taking kids from the change rooms to the shelter. 2 at a time, 3 at a time. They protected the kids from rain with their umbrellas.
To me, they were the hand of God protecting the kids from the storm. Despite their fear, the counsellors became the calm presence of God for them.
That is who our God is. We notice only the strong winds and the storms around us. But God is with you, protecting you, sheltering you.
When you’re drowning in your problems, don’t let fear take you into deeper darkness. Instead, simply cry out to God: Lord, save me!
God will rescue you. God will walk through any storm to get to you.
When your heart is troubled by many worries, wait for God’s saving hand.
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