So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” —Matthew 14:29–30
You can be fearful or faithful; but not both. It all depends where you are looking. As long as Peter was looking at Jesus, he was faithful enough to walk on water. When he began to focus on the storm, he began to sink.
I know it sounds simple: just look to Jesus; but it’s not so simple in practice. Because circumstances are so visible, so in-your-face and Jesus isn’t. I remember being in a storm at see. I wasn’t in a small boat like Peter. I was on a huge aircraft carrier. U. S. S. Ranger, with 5000 other men. We had been stationed off of Viet Nam for months and we were scheduled to be in Hong Kong. That was a great port and we all needed some good liberty. However, at the last minute we had to move away from that port. The night before our scheduled docking we were miles from port and a storm lay between us and Hong Kong. The captain came on the ship’s speaker system. I will never forget his words, “Gentlemen, the speed of this vessel is classified; but I will tell you that when the sun rises in the morning, we will be in Hong Kong harbor.” I didn’t know a ship that big could move that fast or rock that much, but in the morning we were in Hong Kong. You see the Captain’s wife was in Hong Kong. The only way to make it through that night was to focus on the destination and not the storm; but the storm was loud and present and frightening and the destination was not in sight. When the sun rose, the storm was over and we were moving into the harbor.
Storms and floods and negative circumstances are all distractions. Jesus is the reality. As long as He is the focus, the sun is shining and we are sailing in calm harbor waters.
Faith or fear. The choice is ours; it’s just a matter of focus.
Nick
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