Jesus walking on water is a favorite part of mine, and is one of His most popular miracles among Christians and non-Christians alike. Most of the times though it’s just looked at, I think, as a miracle which very obviously defies the laws of physics while at the same time displaying Jesus’ divine nature. Was this all? As we actually read the story we see that this doesn’t seem to be Jesus’ main point. Rather Jesus taught his disciples, and us, about faith. “You of little faith, why did you doubt.” he said when Peter started to sink. The context of the story is not the water, it’s faith.
Jesus makes us see the contrast between doubt and faith. Peter did take a step of faith initially when he stepped out of the boat, but then when it got windy he doubted and started to sink. This is how it happens: 1. Wind comes 2. Doubt. 3. Begin to sink. 4. Ask Jesus for help. Most of the time we do the same. Life gets difficult, we get distressed and find ourselves helpless. We’ve all either heard or said the words: “I feel like I’m sinking.” But Jesus is saying: 1. Have faith. 2. Walk on water with me. This doesn’t mean that grief and sorrow aren’t normal and even necessary for healing to an extent. There’s a defining line between pain and doubt which I’m still trying to figure out. Can we be hurt in life, yet still have faith, without doubting God and still walking on water?
But here’s another point: Jesus was there with Peter. Peter didn’t just venture to try this on his own. A scene in the book The Shack pointed out this to me. In its fictional story, the character of McKenzie had just walked on water across a lake together with Jesus. On the way back he was eager to do it again, but went ahead of Jesus and it didn’t quite work out. Jesus teased him: “This always works better when we do it together.”
So this week in your life, is there a water which Jesus is asking you to walk on together with Him?
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