Peter’s Adventure

April 25, 2019

Peter’s Adventure

But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Matthew 14:30

The story of Peter’s adventure on the water (Matthew 14:22-33) has always intrigued me. First, I have a pet peeve with the way the story is sometimes used. I cringe when people use the story as an example of putting faith into action and say something cutesy like, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat.”

I think Jesus was walking on water because it was the most expedient way for him to catch up to the disciples. When Jesus got to the boat he challenged his disciples: “You have so little faith. Why did you doubt me?” (Matthew 14:31) Jesus was not challenging them to show their faith by walking on water; Jesus was challenging the disciples because of their lack of faith. Jesus had just finished feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and two fish. (Matthew 14:13ff) What else did the disciples need to believe? Why were they terrified to see Jesus coming to them? They responded from fear and missed being comforted by Jesus through faith.

My Takeaway: This episode is another reminder for me of the point I made a few weeks ago (April 12). Have my personal experiences with Jesus been sufficient to earn my unconditional, unqualified obedience? If not, what else must Jesus do to earn my loyalty? In today’s story of Peter’s adventure in the wind and waves, I am encouraged to live with a made-up mind: Jesus will take care of me; all things are possible with Jesus; I can rest in the assurance that Jesus knows where I am and is and will be all I need.

Sē’lah

Alex

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.