Jesus said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “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?” Matthew 14:27-31

The disciples were terrified when they saw what they thought was a ghost walking on the water, but Jesus called out to them to reassure them that in fact it was Him. Peter then demonstrated real courage by asking the Lord to show that it was really Him by allowing Peter to walk to Him on the water. The Lord granted Peter’s request.

However, once Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, the wind picked up and Peter gave his attention to the wind. He took his focus off the Lord and began to sink.

This is a familiar passage, and most people will focus on the other disciples who did not have the courage to get out of the boat, or Peter looking at the wind instead of Jesus. But what is really interesting to me is that the water was not, and is not, a foundation that was ever meant to hold Peter up.

Peter heard the Lord’s voice and he followed it to the point of stepping into a place that only grace could keep him. However, when the wind blew or the storm came or the problem arose, as undoubtedly they will, Peter allowed the circumstances to overwhelm him. It caused him to lose focus, and he began to sink.

I so understand how this can happen as I have had my “Peter Moments.”

Due to this pandemic, I cannot get the radiation treatments that I need to kill my cancer. The date was postponed from April 1 to May 4. However, when the Governor decided on Thursday to cancel the rest of the school year, I like Peter, began to sink.

I began to tell myself, “This means my treatments will be pushed back even further,” (which is a real possibility by the way) and therefore in my mind, my healing is also being delayed. The problem is that I stopped looking to the Great Physician and started looking at the TV.

God is Sovereign. Even when the world and our circumstances seem out of control, God is still in control. Not only can He do the impossible, He has the power to bring you through the impossible as well.

I recently read somewhere, “God would not let you face a Goliath if he did not think you had a David in you.” As nice at that sounds, David would be the first to credit this same Sovereign God with the victory over every giant we need to defeat.