Matthew 14:25-29 (NIV)
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
By the time of this storm, Peter was no novice in witnessing miracles. But now, straining against the oars with every muscle, Peter must have longed to have Jesus there in the boat with him. And then they saw him. Peter was so ecstatic and relieved that the Lord had come to them in the darkness and the danger, so awed that Jesus could walk on top of the very water that threatened their lives, that he wanted to walk on water with his Lord. So he climbed out of the boat and started walking while the wind was still raging!
Matthew 14:30-31 (NIV)30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Why did he doubt? Hadn't Peter witnessed miracle after miracle, even a breathtaking one mere hours before [the loaves and fishes]. Yes, he had. But at this point in Peter's faith, yesterday's miracles didn't yet outweigh his fear of today's dangers. He took his eyes off of Jesus and saw instead, his own frailty. In a surge of ecstatic faith, he had climbed out of the boat with his eyes fixed on Jesus, but when hi face was being slapped by the stinging spray of crashing waves, it suddenly occurred to him that there was nothing under his feet but water. Peter's fear was, from a human standpoint, totally understandable. He didn't feel any solid rock under his feet....he felt his own inadequacies.
When faced with the harsh realities and real evils and dangers of this world, we humans have a tough time taking refuge in spiritual truth. And this is exactly why we need storms and trials in our lives if our faith is to grow.
UNTESTED FAITH IS FRAGILE
It's no coincidence, of course, that the windstorm "just happened" to occur on the heels of the miracle of the loaves and fish. Keep in mind that Jesus is omniscient. He knew when He loaded the disciples into the boat that this storm would come. He chose to be on land, a distance from his disciples, when the storm hit. He chose to allow them to be tossed about, knowing their fears would surface. He chose to display His power to walk on water when their fears were at their height. And He chose His words carefully when He said to Peter, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Jesus used Peter's moment of weakness as a teaching moment. He'd exposed Peter's lack of faith and then proved himself faithful in the face of it.
Mark 6 offers a parallel rendering of the Matthew 14 account.
Mark 6:51-52 (NIV)51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
They had not understood about the loaves - the miracle they'd witnessed just hours before. Sure, they knew that Jesus had miraculously multiplied the food, but they had not grasped how that act had revealed the deity of Jesus - His identity as being one with God, and thus His omnipotent power over the physical world. Their hearts were hardened, meaning that their capacity to perceive and understand was hampered.
However, though the multiplication of the loaves hadn't opened their eyes, a few hours of fear must have softened those hardened hearts, because when Jesus came strolling along walking on top of the water, they got it.
Matthew 14:32-33 (NIV)32 And when they [Peter and Jesus] climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
The darkness, the danger, they physical distance between them and Jesus had all revealed where their faith was weak. Then, and only then, did Jesus climb into the boat with them and quiet the storm.
Before Peter's walking-on-water night, he'd experienced Gods power to some degree, but like Peter, until our faith is tested through challenges, obstacles, trials and storms, it cannot be stretched to new lengths, deepened to new depths, nor grown to new heights. Faith must be tried to its limits before it can grow beyond those limits.
God's goal is to make us more like Him - to transform us from timid children of faith into unstoppable champions of faith. And one of those tools He uses to grow and transform our faith is trials.
TRIALS ARE THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH-TRAINING EXERCISE
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Let's admit it. Pure joy is not our natural response when we face trials and the weakness they reveal. The powerful message of this verse is clear - bad news can be faced with great hope. Whether your trials came as a result of your own brokenness or poor choices, or because of the choices of someone else, or by an act of nature such as a flood or an earthquake or a tornado, or as a consequence of living in a fallen world, you have reason, even while grieving and hurting to be joyful.
Why? Because trials test your faith, and every test reveals where you are weak. This is not bad news. The weaknesses are there inside us, whether we know it or not. Better to have them revealed so we can acknowledge them and, with God's work inside us, see our weakness rooted out and strengthened.
Jesus shone the spotlight on Peter's doubt with his question, "Why did you doubt? " Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught Peter, then climbed into the boat with him, then calmed the storm. He showed Peter that his fears and doubts were unfounded. He proved His faithfulness to Peter to dispel that doubt. His test of Peter's faith thus did its work in building Peter's faith for the future.
But notice that James 1 shows that the building of perseverance must not be passive on our part. It is not God's work alone. Our response to our trials and tests is critical to the process.
God gives us two commands: consider and let.
- We are to "consider it" pure joy. This requires us to make a deliberate decision about how we view the trial, believing that God is at work to make us stronger.
- We must "let" perseverance do its work by working with God, not against Him, in the face of our trials. This is not our natural response, but it is the faith-filled response we are called to make
We, like Peter, have choices to make in the face of life's trials, and what we choose has a direct bearing on whether we are growing into champions of faith. Peter cried out to Jesus, and Jesus reached for him.
God is the wisest of coaches. We can trust him that even in the midst of pain, He is at work for our best eternal interest. Our job is to persevere, trusting His perfect work in our lives.
Champions of faith understand that God uses every trial - every hurdle and obstacle - as our spiritual workout to build our strength and endurance.
Climb out of that boat with your eyes fixed on Jesus. And if you falter, cry out to Him, reach out to Him, knowing He will catch you and climb into your boat. when the time is right, He will calm the storm. But He will choose the time - when your weaknesses have been revealed, when your doubts have been exposed. Then He will step into your weakness with His strength and will prove your doubts are unfounded and that He is faithful and trustworthy.
1 Peter 1:6-9
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.