Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:29-30
Imagine Peter’s reaction to his first few steps on water…“Whaaaat!? Seriously? Suhweet! This is crazy!” Did water splash on his feet? Did he hold his arms like a tightrope walker? Was his mouth wide open?
The brazen Peter had called to Jesus “If it is You, order me to come to You.” In other words, “invite me into this miracle.” And Jesus extended the invitation, “Come.”
The apostle’s wobbly steps offer solid proof that the Creator can transcend the laws of physics. Peter was living a miracle. But this short stroll to Jesus’ is only one in a long history of events offering proof of another law operative where humans are involved—the law of doubt.
From the beginning, the serpent coerced Eve to doubt God’s goodness. Fear of the wind coerced Peter to doubt Jesus’ word. Doubt—the polar opposite of faith—can interfere with a miracle. As soon as wind distracted the experienced seaman from the Lord’s outstretched hand, doubt set in—that sinking feeling that has shipwrecked many a faith.
Despite walking on water with Jesus, in an instant, like water on a flame, doubt drowned a miracle. That’s the law of doubt at work. Doubt can interrupt God’s intervention on earth.
Maybe it doesn’t take a quantum leap of faith to believe that Jesus can override the earthly law of density = mass/volume. Walking on water? No big. More likely it’s the day-to-day stuff that’s the struggle.
When stuck in an oppressive job situation, we can keep faith for a while that God will open another door, but it’s easy to be distracted by a broken spirit (Exod. 6:9). We cling to God’s promise of persistent prayer, “Lord, I want to earn an income doing something that brings fulfillment while also meeting my financial responsibilities in life.” But something sidetracks us. And any distraction is a pathway to doubt. Our dashed hopes mislead. We become skeptical that a new job will ever happen. And Jesus doesn’t do a lot of mighty works where there is unbelief (Matt. 13:58).
A miracle requires trusting God day-to-day—wholeheartedly. Not like the double-minded, whose doubt causes them to be like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6). But with hope set on the sure and steadfast anchor of Jesus Christ.
WARNING: There is always the hazard of sinking. But that doesn’t mean it has to happen. When you get that sinking feeling, cry out to Jesus. By His great power and outstretched hand He will rescue you from drowning amid the waves of doubt.
If we believe that Peter’s few steps prove Jesus’ authority over earthly laws, look at what the apostle’s sinking proves—just as easily Christ can also override earthly circumstances. If God reaches out to us during our doubts and distractions, and certainly the Cross proves this to be God’s nature, then we can also trust God to reach out to us before doubt is allowed to interrupt a miracle—and maintaining hope to be set free from a bad job situation is a miracle.
When Peter experienced that sinking feeling, his first instinct was to cry out to Jesus—“Lord, save me!” When you feel that sinking feeling, right at that moment, between walking on water and succumbing to the fluid mechanics of displacement—at that split second cry out “Jesus, I’m losing it! Help me look past this distraction to your outstretched hand!” Will he not answer you immediately? Yes! Yes, Jesus will answer just as certainly as He answered Peter when he started to sink.
Don’t let doubt interrupt your miracle(s). Instead, call on the One whose powerful arm is always near. And hear Jesus say, “O you of a growing faith, why did you almost doubt?” until the day when heaven transcends your earthly situation and you hear the suhweet words “Your faith has set you free.”
Prayer:
Jesus, I want to walk on water 24/7, keeping my eyes fixed on Your outstretched hand. I don’t want to be like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. Help me to be single-minded, having stability in all of my ways. I confess that I have allowed the distracting winds of a hated job situation to cause fear and agitation. Jesus, let your peace be firmly planted in my heart, so I can live in Your miracle until You return. Increase my faith! In Your Name, the Name above all names, Amen.
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