What do you do when you’re afraid? Start by looking at what Jesus did in the Bible book of Matthew. When Peter walked on water and then started to sink, Jesus didn’t wait for him to pull himself together or finish learning a lesson. Jesus reached out immediately. That one word carries the whole answer to the fear question, and it shows up more than once in this story.
This past summer, a few of my kids tried water skiing for the first time. We have pretty coordinated children, but at this first ski attempt, they were … not great. They struggled to get up out of the water. They struggled to trust the boat to pull them, and they struggled with communication with the boat driver. The waves and the wind and the self-doubt and the frustration and the gravity were all very real. I think my favorite disciple, Peter, could relate, and he didn’t get even the benefit of extra-wide skis for his water walk. Here’s the story from the book of Matthew:
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 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. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22–33)
Why did Peter sink when he walked on water?
We might be tempted to read this story and say, “Well, duh. C’mon, Peter, of course Jesus is the Son of God! He literally just fed over five thousand people with some meager loaves and fishes yesterday. A person touched his cloak and was healed. You’ve seen him cast out demons! Little faith, indeed!”
What were the disciples really afraid of?
And yet, let’s remember what else had just happened in their circles. Not long before this, John the Baptist had been beheaded. The Romans were coming down with a heavier hand upon the Jews. Not everything about following Jesus was sunshine and miracles. There were real and scary things happening. Real bad guys. Real dangers.
This was an early morning after a long day and an even longer night on a boat. Most likely none of the disciples had gotten a restful night’s sleep. They were tired of traveling and tired of people. And let’s also remember this thing called gravity. Can you imagine hopping out of a boat and thinking you could just walk on the water? Our logic and our knowledge of how forces in the world work are hard to overcome. I’m not sure any of us would have done any better than bold, brash Peter. That’s worth remembering every time Peter walking on water gets used as a lesson in how not to have faith.
What does Jesus do when we’re afraid? He moves immediately
But did you catch what Jesus did? And did you catch the important adverb that is repeated a couple of times throughout this chapter? When he headed out to them and realized they were scared that he might be a ghost, Jesus immediately reassured them of who he was and reminded them they did not need to fear. And again, when Peter became afraid and started to sink, Jesus immediately reached out his hand to catch him. Immediately. He didn’t make them worry in the boat before revealing himself. He didn’t let Peter flounder under the waves for a few minutes until he had learned his lesson. Jesus was there, helping, reassuring, saving. Immediately.
And he’s there for us too. Immediately. Even when we have little faith. Even when we don’t recognize him. Even when we focus on the dangers instead of on our Savior. He still saves. He still rescues. He pulls us up and puts us back on our feet, and he tells us to come and be water walkers. With him.
