Faith And Doubt

?And then Jesus comes walking on the water. The way Mark puts it in his Gospel is he says Jesus comes walking by… Kind like Hey they! See you on the other side!

And then Peter who’s still figuring this thing out has an epiphany… He realizes if Jesus invites him he too can probably walk on water. So he calls out to Jesus… Invite me out. If you ask me to do it I will be able to. But if I do it myself I know I can’t. This isn’t magic it’s faith. If you tell me to come to you I can do it.

So Jesus says come on out… Let’s pick up the story there…

29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:29-30

That’s a great prayer isn’t it?… Peter doesn’t know what else to say so he cries out.. Lord, save me…

Stay in this moment for a minute.

Haven’t you prayed that prayer? Haven’t you said that? Pause, reflect on this more in a personal way…

Maybe not those same words, but you’ve prayed that prayer. You’ve been in that storm. You’ve felt yourself sinking. You’ve been overcome by the storm. That news that takes your breath away. When things don’t work out as you thought. When you thought God’s calling was clear, but things seem to fall apart. It’s in those moments that doubt can crept in… Doubt settles and whispers… Maybe it’s not true. Maybe the Bible isn’t reliable. Maybe God’s not good. Maybe he doesn’t care about me… And you start to sink. Just like Peter did.

I’ve been in that storm… Moved here was like getting out of the boat… Then the storm it.

2016 - 2017 was one a really hard season for my wife and I. A few family members died. Our church quite literally was flipped upside down. We had no idea what was going on. Most of my prayers in that time were asking God what he was doing and trying to figure out where to go next. But in the middle of the storm there was a bright spot. My wife and I found out we were pregnant… It seemed like God was finally answering those prayers…

But that was short lived. The storm picked back up. After maybe hitting the two month mark she miscarried.

I’ve never forget that first night. After getting home from the hospital exhausted and drained. My wife and I just laid in our bed and cried. Soon my sadness turned to anger. I thought God was supposed to be good. Sure doesn’t seem like it. I thought he gave peace in tough situations, I sure don’t feel it. My faith cannot make sense of this storm.

And doubt crept in on a level I had never experienced before. It was one of the darkest and loneliest seasons I’ve ever experienced. The storm came and I started to sink.

Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you are there. Maybe someone you know is in a storm like that.

And Peter teach us an important lesson on how to respond in the midst of the storms. Peter when he saw the waves, he we experienced doubt he cried out Lord Save Me…

31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Matthew 14:31-32