Evening

March 3

Matthew 14:31-33 ³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" ³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Jesus sent the disciples ahead while He went up into the mountain to pray. They rowed against a wind that kept them from getting across the lake. During the few remaining hours before dawn, Jesus came to them walking on the water. Jews called the depths of the lake "the Abyss." Seeing a man walking on the water frightened them for they thought He was a ghost, but Jesus told them who He was and that they need not fear. (Job 9:8)

Peter asked to come to Jesus on the water. Jesus invited him to come. That first step off the boat was quite a step of faith. Remember, the wind is blowing and the waves are rolling by. Do you step on the top of wave, or jump to a low point? Peter actually took a few steps but then got his eyes off Jesus and onto the waves and he started to sink. He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord grabbed his hand and rebuked his doubt. As soon as they were both in the boat, the wind died down and the disciples began to worship Jesus.

Every storm in life is a test to see if we will walk through it by faith or doubt. Sinking into that lake was the last thing Peter wanted to experience, yet the distraction of the physical caused him to experience what he dreaded most. Even in the midst of doubt, you can call out to the Lord and immediately His hand is there. We rarely walk straight across our storms without being distracted. Why do we doubt? Why don't we have more faith in what the Lord can do? It depends on where our vision is fixed. What are we giving the most attention to? It helps to realize that the Lord has allowed the storm so that our faith might be increased. Whether we pass or fail, when we end up in the boat together and the wind dies down, we end up worshipping Him. We see His might and ability a little more clearly and worship Him for who He is. "Truly you are the Son of God!"

Consider: Difficulty is often the path to spiritual growth.