Why Did You Doubt?

Why Did You Doubt?

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Matthew 14:30-31

Christ is very gracious in His instruction of His faltering saints. As Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, he began to demonstrate his humanity. He saw that the winds were boisterous and that the waves showed no signs of abating. As his mind apprehended these things, he began to sink. Notice the response of Christ, not only, in what He did do, but also in what He did not do. He did not put His foot on Peter’s head and push him under the water. Rather, He very graciously reaches down and pulls Peter up. Without a spirit of harshness, Christ says to him, ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ Realize, please, that this was a private conversation held between the two of them, well away from the boat. The other disciples would never have known what Christ had said, had not Peter informed them. This demonstrates how kind Christ is in correcting and instructing His faltering saints. Have we not also found it to be so with us? How often do we find that we are in the midst of a fearful situation? Christ has answered our prayer of faith and is miraculously upholding us. We begin to falter because our humanity begins to assert itself. Christ very graciously and kindly comes to us, picks us up, and speaks a quiet word of instruction in our ear. We have an utterly Gracious Savior. He speaks to us in low and loving tones that only we can hear. He addresses our shortcomings and stays with us until we are above the water once more. Christ very lovingly asks us today, ‘Why did you doubt?’  What a Wonderful Savior.

Our Gracious Upholding Christ, we praise and thank you this day,
that You do not leave us to flounder.
We rejoice that You continue to draw near us in the midst of our struggling;
that You raise us up, and that You speak to us the words which are most important for us to hear.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning