05/31/2026
After feeding the five thousand, Jesus sent His disciples ahead by boat while He stayed behind to pray. As night came, the winds became violent and the sea grew rough. The disciples were exhausted, afraid, and struggling against a storm they could not control. Then, in the middle of the darkness, Jesus came walking toward them on the water. At first they were terrified, believing they had seen a spirit, but Jesus spoke peace to them saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” In the middle of fear and uncertainty, the voice of Jesus reminded them they were not alone.
Peter answered the Lord and said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Jesus simply replied, “Come.” With that one word, Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on water. Peter was doing something impossible because his eyes were fixed completely on Christ. The storm had not stopped. The wind was still blowing. The waves were still crashing around him. Yet none of those things affected Peter while his focus remained on Jesus. Peter was not being held up by calm circumstances. He was being held up by faith.
The scripture says, “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid.” Peter’s problem began when his focus shifted. He stopped looking at Jesus and started looking at the storm. Fear entered where faith had once been. Doubt began speaking louder than the voice of God. The moment Peter focused more on the wind and waves than the Savior standing before him, he began to sink.
So many believers experience the same thing in life. God calls us to trust Him, but when trials become overwhelming, we begin paying more attention to our circumstances than to the promises of God. We look at the sickness instead of the Healer. We look at the bills instead of the Provider. We look at the pain instead of the Comforter. The enemy knows that if he can distract our focus, he can weaken our faith. That is why Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Epistle to the Hebrews When our eyes stay on Christ, fear loses its power over us.
What makes this passage so powerful is that even while Peter was sinking, Jesus did not abandon him. The moment Peter cried out, “Lord, save me,” the Bible says Jesus immediately stretched forth His hand and caught him. Jesus did not wait for Peter to fix himself before helping him. He responded to Peter’s cry for help. That is the grace and mercy of God. Even when our faith becomes weak, God remains faithful. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Book of Psalms
Sometimes storms reveal where our trust truly rests. It is easy to praise God when life is peaceful, but storms expose our fears, our doubts, and the areas where we still struggle to trust Him fully. God will sometimes allow difficult seasons in our lives not to destroy us, but to strengthen our dependence upon Him. James 1:3 says, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Epistle of James Through every trial, God is shaping us, teaching us, and drawing us closer to Him.
When Jesus and Peter stepped back into the boat, the wind ceased, and the disciples began worshipping Him saying, “Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” Sometimes we do not fully recognize who Jesus is until we have seen Him carry us through a storm. Peter lost sight because he allowed fear to become greater than faith, but he also learned that even when he fell, the hand of Jesus was still there to lift him up.
Isaiah 43:2 says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.” Book of Isaiah God never promised a life without storms, but He did promise we would never face them alone. The question is not whether storms will come because they will. The question is whether we will keep our eyes on Jesus when they do. If we focus only on the waves around us, fear will pull us under. But when we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, we can walk through storms we never thought we would survive. Even when we lose sight of Him for a moment, He never loses sight of us.
