Jesus wants to increase our faith, and this comes with testing, and even some humor. When Peter was in the boat during a scary storm, he woke up Jesus and said, “Don’t you care that we perish?” (Matthew 8:23-27)
Now, I think that is a bit funny, and can almost imagine Jesus rolling His eyes… Of course He cared!
Jesus calmed the storm, turned to Peter and said, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I know that Jesus could have said that very same thing to me countless times!
Can you imagine Jesus looking right at you and saying, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
He might be saying that to you now…
But Jesus was so gracious. He calmed the storm and the disciples’ response was utter amazement. “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the waves obey Him?”
I imagine that after this experience, the disciples no longer panicked in fear when they where in the midst of a storm. The question, “Don’t you care that we perish?” probably did not come up. They had experienced what kind of a man Jesus was.
Perhaps it was this experience that later gave Peter the faith to step out of the boat and walk on water. (Matthew 14) The scene is this – the disciples had gone ahead of Jesus to the other side of the lake. Peter saw what he thought was a ghost. “Lord, if that’s you, ask me to come to you.” Jesus answered, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and proceeded to walk on the water. Talk about a leap of faith!
But, that is not where the story ends. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the wind and the waves. He became afraid, started to sink, and cried out, “Lord, save me!” Again, I wonder if Jesus did not roll His eyes a bit. “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” And, I wonder if Peter ever doubted again that he could walk on water when Jesus called him.
Still today, God establishes who He is to grow us from faith to faith so that we can be at peace when a storm arises and step out in faith when He calls us to “walk on water”.
Susan Kewin
Christ Fellowship