And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 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? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. Matthew 14:22-33 KJV
I have heard people say that Peter was a coward because he was afraid yet he was braver than a lot us are. Some of us have never even stepped into the water to go to Jesus. Yes, we have accepted Him into our hearts to be our personal Saviour and our sins have been forgiven, cleansed and washed in the precious blood of Jesus. Our sins will never be held against us again, but some of us haven’t stepped into the water and trusted Him with our children, our marriages and our lives.
We are living in a world that is filled with wars, hatred, sexual sins, violence, pornography and misuse of drugs. Some people drink alcohol and get so drunk that they don’t know what they are doing and sometimes do things that they not only regret later, they don’t even remember doing them. To make it worse, they spend most of their money on alcohol and so don’t have enough money to buy food for their families. A lot of children right in our own neighborhoods are going hungry because they don’t have enough food to eat. May God forgive us!
Husbands and wives are beating one another, not only physically, but verbally and mentally. Children are killing their parents and parents are killing their children. Our families are in serious danger of falling apart because of jealousy, criticism, sarcasm and hatred of one another. How we must break the heart of Jesus who loves us so much that He died for us!
Yes, as long as we are in this world we will have conflicts. The good news is that Jesus is our peace in the times of trouble. He is the one, the only one, who can calm the troubled waters and storms of our lives. He can take a broken marriage, a family that is falling apart, and the shattered pieces of our hearts and put them back together again. Jesus, our precious Saviour, loves us so much. He is merciful, understanding, patient, kind, loving, tender, gracious and forgiving. If today, you are sinking in the midst of your storm tossed life, step out into the water and walk to Jesus. He will be faithful to calm the storms and restore the peace to your heart.