Walking on Water (i)

Beginning our new series, we consider what happened immediately after the occurrence of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. In Matthew 14: 22, we read, “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away”. The term ‘constrained’ indicates that the Lord had to compel His disciples to follow His instructions even though they had just seen a miracle of such magnitude, only because they were well versed in matters of the sea and storms as fishermen and they were refuting the Lord’s instructions. The same happened with the Israelites as they left Egypt and travelled through the wilderness; they experienced miracle after miracle – but they still managed to continually doubt God. We too do the same, we see God come through for us time and time again, yet we still want to debate with Jesus because of our natural knowledge and fears. We continue to read, “But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary” (v.24); showing us that although Jesus had spoken a word, the wind still moved in the opposite direction. God the Father had given all creation an instruction at the time of Jesus’ baptism – He said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5), but we see here that the winds were moving in rebellion to the words of Jesus, who had told His disciples to journey to the other side of the sea. 

The disciples went on and were resolute, they did not turn back in fear, but they continued in strength through the storm. It was only at about the fourth watch of the night when Jesus joined them, and we read from Mark’s rendition that “He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by” (Mark 6:48). This is important to note because it reveals that faith works on principles, and not on feelings and emotions. Being at the height of your distress will not absolve you from the responsibilities of applying your faith for a better outcome. They were supposed to call forth the name of the Lord because He does not just impose Himself on us regardless of our desperate need. We continue to read, “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear” (Matthew 14:26). These are men who had known and walked with Jesus, they surely knew Him and His form well; but these are works of fear, they rob you of your ability to see your help when it arrives. You suddenly become incapable of breaking down your challenge into manageable blocks, and you are overwhelmed with thoughts of defeat that you even miss the door to victory right before your eyes. Unmanaged fear increases the presence of tormenting spirits, and from one small thing, you can land into a hurricane of chaos. Back to the sea, we read, “But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matthew 14:27) – He gave them a grace instruction that would give birth to the miracle that was about to occur – the calming of the storms. We have to cooperate! 

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus” (v. 28-29) – Peter did not give the Lord options, and he left no room for the will of God in the situation. We then see down the line that this might not have been the best decision at the moment. Additionally, even though Peter came out of the boat, He did not walk on water, He walked on the word of the Lord to him, which was, “Come!”. He stepped out of his comfort zone, He came out of the place where he could carry himself, and into the space where he had to solely rely on Jesus. We continue to read, “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me” (v.30). Question: was the wind not present the whole time, even when Peter stepped out of the boat? Of course it was! But at that point, Peter’s focus had been on the Lord, and he had now shifted his gaze to the winds and fear began to creep in. We read that he was ‘beginning to sink’, and even thinking of this practically, there are no gradual steps to a man sinking in the sea, they just sink –period! But it shows us that all things in the spirit start small and then grow; and by God’s mercy we are not immediately consumed, but we are offered many opportunities of salvation along the way. We then read that “immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (v.31). This is a comfort because Jesus acknowledges that it takes little faith to walk on water, we just need to make sure our faith is uncontaminated, but we can truly achieve great feats! The narration then continues, “And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou art the Son of God” (v.32-33). This is what happens, when Jesus steps into the scene, things change and worship is the only true and worthy response. 

Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Word. You have put power in our mouths, and our words do not fall to the ground. We are filled with Your Word! Your word produces in us the fruit of faith! We are victorious on all sides! No opposition is able to withstand the power that lives within us! We take bold steps! We insist that we will not rot in the comfort zone! In the name of Jesus! Amen!