Why Did You Doubt?

I have been thinking a lot about the story in Matthew 14 when the disciples were in the boat and there was a storm.  The boat was a long distance from the land, battered by the waves;  for the wind was contrary.  An in the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Instantly Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.”  And He said, “Come!”  And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.

Peter walked on the water…not a windless, glassy water, a stormy, contrary water.  But he was walking on it because Jesus said “Come.”

Its easy when you see Him and you focus there, its easy to follow Him and depend on Him until you look down and realize that is what you are doing. 

In theory, we are supposed to have this faith in Him, because He is faithful and He is trustworthy, but we stop short of stepping on to the water so many times because we can’t see the solution…or the solution is there but we fear it because it will take “walking on the water”.  What if I heard Him wrong and I get halfway to Him and its not really Him…?

I have proceeded a step…or a few steps further.  I am on the water…walking with my eyes focused on my God.  It is a wonderful place to be 8 out of 10 days.  It’s those 2 days that I look down…I want to go back to the safety of the boat but I am already too far away and then I start sinking.  I literally feel like I’m suffocating, like there is water filling my lungs and I have to cry out, “Lord, save me!”  He always does, there is always that person who says just the right thing or that new photo of Henry on Facebook…waiting….waiting.   
Its easy to keep your eyes on Jesus when your purpose is clear. So that is the goal, keep my purpose in mind.  The Lord said, “Come, Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  What more could I ask for?

Jesus did not calm the sea before he told Peter to come.  Peter didn’t wait for the sea to calm before he stepped out.  
We are called girls…we are called to step onto the stormy sea…keeping our eye fixed upon our savior.  Our buoyancy is dependant on our faith, however small, it is dependant on our focus, on our purpose, on our Savior.