Do You Want to Walk on Water?

 

I hope so, because one of my all-time favorite true stories in the bible is the story of Jesus walking on the surface of the Sea of Galilee, and Peter getting out of his boat to also walk on water. I’ll read you the story in a minute, but here are a few reasons I love it.

First, I’m a chemistry and physics nut. I majored in Chemical Engineering, and I’m fascinated by the study of chemical properties. People laugh when I share my love of the refrigeration cycle. And here we have two grown men, walking on stormy swells of liquid sea water. The chemistry behind hydrogen bonding, surface tension, density, and buoyancy is cool – but it cannot explain what these two men got to experience in real life.

Secondly, I wish I could walk on water, don’t you! Wouldn’t that be amazing? Even watching little bugs zip around on the surface of the water is exciting. My personality especially loves new and memorable experiences, but I can’t even put walking on water on my bucket list.

While these aspects draw me into the story, they aren’t the parts that drill to the deep parts of my heart. That happens when I see my terror, courage, obedience, and doubt in Peter and the calmness, power, and love in Jesus. Let me read it to you.

Matthew 14:23-33
And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

None of us will get to walk on physical water in this life, unless it’s frozen over. We won’t have the experience of our lives depending on Jesus holding us up on the surface of the water with each physical step, like Peter did. But the spiritual analogy is so rich. We can play it safe in the boat, doing nothing spiritually, trying to ignore the storms of sin and guilt we know are real. But we’ll go down with the ship when it capsizes, holding on to everyone and everything in this world that we trusted in. Or, like Peter we can pursue spiritual things in faith, even believing that maybe the Jesus of the bible plays some role in saving us. But courage in getting out of the boat is only folly if we are trusting in anything else to hold us up. They are like trying to walk on water trusting in hydrogen bonding. Any doubt that Jesus alone is holding us up with every step - and down we plunge into the cold, dark, unforgiving waters of spiritual death. 

But, and this made all the difference in the story and makes all the difference for you and me spiritually, it is good to be terrified and to see that we’re going down fast. Cry out, “Lord, save me! You alone have the power to keep me from eternal suffering, and I trust in you completely.” The story doesn’t even say Peter grabbed Jesus’ hand for some support. All he had time to do before he drowned was cry out. But it says “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

Have you trusted in Jesus to save you, but you still feel like your life is sinking? I often feel that way. It makes sense because he calls us out of the boat to a life we can’t do in our own strength. We must have let go of the savior’s hand to trust in something else, doubting his sufficiency to protect us. We need to cry out to the Lord to save us and cling to him as he takes hold of us.