It had never, ever been done. And then here comes Jesus, at 3AM in the morning, when it's pitch black except for the stars and moon to light the sky, walking right up to the boat where the disciples were.
The Bible says the disciples were "terrified." I think that's putting it mildly. I'm sure if I was there, I would have let out a girl scream, no doubt about that.
But Peter, the ever fearless one, asked to join in. He climbed out of the boat and began walking on water! Amazing! Peter didn’t know how to walk on water. The fact it had never been done before wasn’t a concern as long as he kept his eyes focused on Jesus. And Peter began walking on water, towards Jesus. But then the waves started crashing and the wind picked up. Peter took his eyes, his focus, off of Jesus and started to look at his surroundings. In a heartbeat, Peter shifted his focus and put more trust in the frightening elements around him and his own inability to conquer the elements, rather than keeping his focus on the creator of the elements and His ability to keep Peter safe. The second Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink.
Sometimes it's a gradual shift of focus. Things are going great, and we start to drift but don't realize it. Sometimes it's a sudden circumstance, and we immediately turn to fear - the way Peter did - instead of keeping our focus on Jesus. Whenever we pull our eyes, our focus, off of Jesus, we sink. No two ways about it. But Jesus will do for us what he did for Peter: "Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him." Just be prepared for what Jesus says next: "You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” That's an answer I don't want to give. When the wind picks up, the waters start crashing, remember they're big, fat distractions. Keep your eyes, your focus, on Jesus, the only one who has the power to overcome the distractions and can help you walk right over them.
-- Erin
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