“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:29–30 (NIV)
Like Peter, I worry when I am faced with the storms of life. Too often, when life gets wild, I forget to stay focused on Jesus. We all have storms in our lives, but Jesus is there for us. A day at the lake with my boys when they were small brought this truth home to me.
My husband, Clay, and I were enjoying a day of fishing with our six-year-old twin sons, Jeremy and Joshua. After a few hours, I noticed a little bit of water in the back of the boat and mentioned it to my husband. “Don’t worry,” he said, “the boat is fine. It’s just a small leak. It’ll be all right. We’ll be leaving soon.”
A few minutes later, I turned and looked at Joshua. He had his little arms stretched out as far as they could go. He was holding on to both sides of the boat so tight his knuckles were white. I tried to encourage him. “Come, fish! They’re really biting.” I looked a few minutes later, and he was still holding the sides. “Why aren’t you fishing?”
“I can’t!” he said.
“Come on, Joshua. See if you can catch another fish.”
He sat there, clenching his teeth, still holding to the edges of the boat. “I can’t,” he replied. “I’m holding up the boat!”
How often do we think that it is up to us to hold up the boat? Just like Joshua, we are giving it all we’ve got. But Jesus is asking us to let go and trust Him. When we put our trust in Jesus, He will always come through for us. He sustains us and gives us peace.
Faith Step: Don’t look at the storms of life, but look to Jesus and He will rescue you.
