Keep Your Eyes on Your Hope and Strength

Matthew 14:22-32

In a previous Upon Reflection I noted that Alex, our Black Lab, is, to put it kindly, faint of heart. Although he is a good watch dog in many respects, he suffers from an inordinate fear, or at least, discomfort from too many things. Thunderstorms send him to the walk-in closet. As for going outside, a necessity for all dogs, he does not like to go out if it’s too cold, too hot, or too windy. Rain and darkness also create problems. If I am with him, however, he has no fear.

At one point in the ministry of Jesus, He told His disciples to get into a boat and begin the crossing of the Sea of Galilee. (See Matthew 14:22-32.) He remained on shore and went to the mountainside to pray by Himself. That evening the boat the disciples were in was a considerable distance from the shore and was being buffeted by waves due to the wind. Jesus walked to them and when they saw Him walking on the water, they thought He was a ghost. They were terrified. Jesus said to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Or as the little boy in the Sunday School class memorized, “Don’t git scairt. It’s me!”
Many of us are often paralyzed with fear even as the disciples were. Much of our fear is exhibited in the way we worry and our concern over what tomorrow may bring. Take heart. As long as He is with us we need not fear; we need not worry. “God is love…There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” (I John 4:16, 17).

One of the disciples of Jesus who was in the boat, Peter, became emboldened by seeing his Lord walking on the water. “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28). Peter’s request to walk to Jesus on the water is consistent with his behavior prior to the crucifixion of Jesus. It is hard to tell sometimes whether Peter was a risk taker or a thrill seeker; a thrill seeker being one who wants the experience for the excitement of the event and a risk taker being one who is willing to take that risk to achieve certain results.

Jesus directed him to, “Come” (Matthew 14:29).

Peter actually got out of the boat onto the turbulent, wind-driven water. By the power of Jesus he was able to walk on that water, but only briefly. It was a case were Peter stepped out on faith and sunk as a result of his faith wavering. How often do we step out on faith only to waver at the first sign of trouble?

Peter was doing just fine until he took his eyes off the Master and focused his sight on the turbulence. The turbulence that we face in our lives likewise can cause us to take our eyes off our source of hope and strength. Sometimes our waves come in the form of others who would discourage us in our labors for Him. They are the naysayers of our world and too often they are associated with the church. These individuals are quick to point out why they consider us unworthy to serve Him.

This type of discourager capitalizes on our already existing self-doubt. We are often quick to give up and give in knowing that we really are inadequate to “walk on the water” to Him. And as Peter began to sink, we too have that sinking feeling.

Jesus hearing Peter’s words, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:31) and seeing Peter’s predicament, reached out His hand and caught him. He does the same for us. He is always there, ready to reach out His hand and rescue us from the turbulence that we face.

“When you get discouraged just remember what to do
Reach out to Jesus, He’s reaching out to you.” (Ralph Carmichael)

In reality we are all unworthy to serve Him. But His grace and mercy enable us to serve Him and live lives to His glory. Don’t look back to the boat. Don’t look down at the waves. Look forward to the Lord. It is in Him that we have our hope and strength.