I love the scriptures and the illustration below. It’s easy, in hindsight, to criticize Peter’s fear - but at least he had the courage to step out of the boat! Each of us are faced with “get out of the boat” situations. And in those moments - the real-life, “water’s over my head and I can’t swim” times in our lives, we have the privilege of putting everything we have learned and know and believe, to the test.
The question isn’t, can Jesus save us from the situation that is causing us fear. The real question is, do we TRUST Him with whatever the outcome may be? If He doesn’t heal, doesn’t prevent the accident, doesn’t make the happy ending we wanted - do we still trust His goodness?
Once we can answer that question with a confident YES, fear is truly gone. Satan is defeated and powerless. We have a freedom that only comes from the confident assurance that God is in control of every detail of our lives and that He is good! 🙂
“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Matthew 14:29-31 NLT
“We all know that it’s more comfortable back in the shallows. It’s easier to believe that we’re going to survive when we’re sitting on the solid planks of the boat. But if we’re called to step away from the edge, to walk out where the blue below us is darker, out where the wind is rising, trust becomes a more difficult matter. We grow fearful. We begin to sink. But we have been called to do the impossible, to jump into the deep end, and to step out of the boat in the midst of the sea. So, go we must.” - Hannah Grieser, Fear and the Goodness of God
