What is more powerful - your God or the storm?
Matthew 14: 29-32 Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
There are times in our life when we feel completely out of the boat, on unsteady ground, without a solid understanding of what is under us or around us. When I have times like that I am reminded of this verse. Peter is a fisherman and he knows the safety and security of staying in the boat. But like all of us, when Jesus is walking on the water and calling him to ‘Come’ he jumps out of his comfort zone and leaps into the unknown. What I notice first about this verse is that it is not the leap of faith that is the hard part, it’s when you find yourself on the water and your brain kicks in and screams, “What the heck are you doing! There is no security out here, you can’t walk on water, who do you think you are Jesus!” It is at this point when you are out of the boat, walking on the water towards Jesus that you notice the storm.
Maybe today your job is uncertain, your income is unknown and you are beginning to notice the strength of the storm that rages around you, take courage you are just like Peter.
Verse 30 But when he saw the wind… This is the moment the wind became more powerful than Jesus who stood before him. The wind was always there, it was there when Jesus appeared, it was there when he was called out of the boat. But out of your comfort zone, after stepping out in faith, in a season of delay, in discouragement, when things feel out of control, it became Peter’s focus. This wasn’t just about taking his eyes off Jesus, it was about allowing the storm to feel bigger, more powerful, more fearful than the Son of God: Jesus that stood in front of him.
When storms of life hit you, you have to remember who walks with you on the water, you have to remember who called you out of the boat. You have to remember who calms the storms!
If your fear of the storm becomes greater than your faith in God, then you have to get a bigger revelation of who your God is! And for me that means reading my Bible, reading how incredible my God is, reading the truth of his power and his might. When the storm overtakes me, I need to get a bigger revelation of the greatness of my God who calms the storm, who created the whole world, who made the seas. Peter forgot who he served, he forgot Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 146:6, Amos 9:6 and Proverbs 8:29 to name a few. Today diminish the might of the storm by getting a fresh revelation of the power of your God through his Word. And remember who is more powerful!