And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him saying, Truly You are the Son of God.  

Matthew 14:32-33 

Christ is always moving us toward a better understanding of Him and an increased faith in Him. In the scene preceding our text, He walked on the water in the midst of a storm; bid Peter come to Him on the water; saved Peter from drowning; taught him to have more faith, and caused the wind to cease. The conclusion the disciples reached was, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’ They had come to a better understanding of Who Christ is, and they had more faith in Him. This kind of thing would occur over and over again, as they followed Christ. The ultimate confirmation of Who He is, which would increase their faith in Him exponentially, would be His resurrection from the dead. This would surpass all other proofs and would become the theme of their preaching, teaching and writing for the rest of their lives. John’s whole purpose for writing is that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We do believe. We proclaim His message on the same foundation the Apostles and Prophets have laid. After all we have seen and heard of Him, we can arrive at no other conclusion and preach no other message. The disciples believed it. The people of God have believed it. We believe He is the Son of God. 

Our Glorious, Living God, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Christ, Your Son to us. 
We praise You that He is the brightness of Your Glory, 
and the express image of Your Person. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying Truly You are the Son of God. 

Matthew 14:31-33 

Christ brings peace to troubled situations. The disciples were in a boat in the middle of a turbulent storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came to them, walking on the water. Peter exercised his faith and walked on the water at Christ’s command. He became intimidated by the circumstances and began to sink. When he cried out to Jesus, He picked him up out of the water with the question, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ Thus, He taught Peter, who had some faith, how to have more and better faith. The lesson now completed, the two of them returned to the boat and the wind ceased. Thus, having taught all the disciples something about faith, and Peter in particular, He brought the class to a close with the cessation of the wind. The disciples worshipped Him as the Son of God. Our experiences of faith lead us to the same conclusion. Everything Christ has said and done convinces us more thoroughly He is the Son of God. We did believe; do believe, and shall believe. After the lesson is done, the wind has ceased, and the sea is calm, we are all the more convinced that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and utterly worthy of worship. If we have learned to have more faith, we can be sure He will lead us into new circumstances in the future that will increase our faith even more.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You teach us like no one else does. 
We praise You that each new experience, 
teaches us to trust You more. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

So, He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? 

Matthew 14:29-31 

We have our doubts. None of us is without them. They surface in our difficult moments. Great people of faith have had them at various times. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and Job all reflect doubt at various moments of their spiritual walk. Peter had adventured himself to request that Christ permit him to walk on the water. Christ bid him come to Him. Peter stepped out and, for a few moments, carried on bravely. Eventually, the magnitude of the situation overcame him. He saw the wind and waves were boisterous and he began to sink. He cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus reached down and grasped him by the hand, pulling him up to safety, saying, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ One thing which is worth considering is, this was a private conversation between two friends, a Teacher and His student. They were away from the boat in the midst of the storm. In order for Matthew to record it, Peter would have had to tell him what Christ had said. Also, this was not a beratement, as much as it was a teaching moment. Peter had shown some faith, more than the others, and Jesus was teaching him to have more faith. Christ does the same for us. We have demonstrated some faith, have at times struggled, and He has taught us to have more faith. He will continue to teach us as we walk with Him.  

Our Good and Wise Savior, 
we rejoice that You teach us along the way. 
We praise You that You seize the moment, 
to teach us to have more faith. 

Tomm Tice

Where the Bush is Burning

So He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me! 

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? 

Matthew 14:29-31 

We often struggle in our walk of faith. Peter certainly did. Having asked the Lord to bid him walk on the water, he stepped out of the boat and did what no other mere mortal in the history of the world has done. He walked on the water to go to Jesus. This was, by itself, a challenging experience. The wind and waves only exacerbated what would have been a challenge to faith on a calm sea. Understandably, Peter began to take in the magnitude of the situation. He was away from the boat walking on the water, and not yet to Jesus. The wind and the waves were  ‘boisterous.’ This rattled Peter well and truly. He became afraid and began to sink. He cried out, ‘Lord save me!’ From these verses we can derive several thoughts. When we exercise faith we often encounter some form of challenge to it. It may be circumstantial or from some other source. When we see the magnitude of the challenge, we may become distracted by it and pay more attention to the situation than to Christ, Who has led us to where we are. We may feel we are sinking. Our cry may sound similar to Peter’s, ‘Lord, save me!’ Peter appealed to the only Person Who could help him at that moment. We can appeal to the same Person. In our most desperate moments, we return to the simplest truth. Jesus saves. 

Our Good and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that we can cry out to You. 
We praise You that You are ever ready to save us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It’s a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid. Lord, since it’s you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 

Matthew 14:25-29 

Christ willingly participates in our exercises of faith. As the disciples were in the midst of violent turbulence on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus came to where they were walking on the water. Initially, they were quite understandably alarmed. They thought He was a ghost. Christ assures them, saying, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ Once He identifies Himself, Peter responds with, ‘Lord, since it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ Peter is ready to step out, by faith, at the Lord’s command. He does not leap over the side of the ship, but seeks the Lord’s command and permission. Jesus answers him with, ‘Come.’ Peter descends from the boat and walks on the water to go to Jesus. What are we seeing here regarding faith? Peter wanted to exercise faith and Christ cooperated with him. Peter was evidencing more willingness to exercise faith than any other disciple. Christ did not discourage him in any way. God often puts us in places where we have the opportunity to exercise faith. When we, at His behest, seek to step out and exercise more faith, He encourages rather than discouraging us. Christ is for us in our exercise of faith. He does for us what He did for Peter. He bids us come to Him.   

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You are for our faith. 
We praise You that as we exercise faith, 
You encourage us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning