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

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountain side by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land,
battered by the waves because the wind was against it. 

Matthew 14:22-24 

Christ often puts us in situations where faith is necessary. Our text gives us an example from the experience of the disciples. Jesus had done a massive creative miracle by feeding 5,000 men, plus women and children with five loaves of bread and two fish. Immediately after this He made his disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side. The Sea of Galilee is relatively shallow and subject to highly turbulent storms. As the disciples traversed the water, the wind caused great upheaval for the boat. The disciples were there, at the behest of the Master, and things were not going well. If there was ever a situation that warranted faith this was it. Christ puts us in situations that require us to exercise faith. We may be absolutely certain He has led us into a particular place to do what we are doing. We are here at His behest. We know what He revealed to us and have no doubt we are doing what He wants us to do. Perhaps things are not going well. The wind is against us and our boat is tossing about and taking on water. All these circumstances call for faith and are a challenge to faith at the same time. We know He has sent us here. All we can do is continue where we are and trust He knows what He is doing. In such circumstances faith is necessary.  

Our Wise and Holy Savior, 
we rejoice that You know all things. 
We praise You that even when circumstances 
seem to be against us, 
You are still accomplishing Your will. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Waves and Wind

But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

Matthew 14:24

Life is full of ups and downs in every way. Sometimes we are doing well physically, yet we may be under stress mentally or socially. We may be enjoying great spiritual growth on one hand, while enduring great physical affliction. Still at other times, perhaps something seems wrong in every area of life, physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. Very often, our turbulent circumstances are the main cause of our distress. These are things over which we have no control, but which affect our lives in disturbing and unsettling ways. The disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee were in such a situation. Christ had insisted that they get into the boat. Now the ‘waves’ and the ‘wind’ were ‘contrary.’ They were not in a peaceful, calm or reassuring circumstance. Christ would appear shortly, but He had not yet appeared. The anxiety of the disciples was at a fever pitch. It is often so with us. We are in the place where God has put us. We are doing exactly what He has set before us to do. Things are not going well. Our anxiety gauges are at meltdown level. Who will do us good? The answer is Christ. He is the Savior Who is the only one who can rectify our circumstances, and what is wrong with us in the midst of them. Wherever we are today, let us look for Him, even though we have not seen Him yet.

Our Sovereign God,
we rejoice that You are Lord of all our circumstances.
We praise You that, ‘when all around our soul gives way,’
You, then, ‘are all our Hope and Stay.’

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘Into The Boat’

Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

Matthew 14:22

Christ puts us where He wants us to be. Our text for today is one we have considered before, yet we have the privilege of drawing water out of this well again and again. The phrasing of our text tells us that Christ was very definite about the disciples getting into the boat. From our perspective, because we have read the rest of the account, we know what was coming. The disciples were shortly going to be in the midst of a violent storm. They were going to be fearing for their lives. Being God, Christ would have known all of that before He insisted that they get into the boat. Having said that, it was only by their being in the boat, under the most adverse circumstances, that they were going to have the opportunity to see Christ do the miraculous. Before they could see the miracle, they had to be in the direst of situations. It is so with us. Christ intends to do the miraculous in our lives. To the end that we may be in the position to see those miracles, He will send us places we would not go apart from His insistence. Those situations may become very unsettling, causing fear and distress to us. In spite of how dire they are, Christ knows what He is doing. He knows the end from the beginning. He will finish what He has started. He will do the miraculous. He will show us things about Himself which we would never know otherwise. At the moment, He wants us to ‘get into the boat.’

Our Wise and All-Seeing God,
we rejoice that You know all things which will occur before they do.
We praise You that You place us where You want us
for the purpose of seeing You do the miraculous.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning