The story goes like this. The men were in a boat, some 3-4 miles from shore. It was the middle of the night. Suddenly, the wind was blowing fiercely. The waves were slapping the boat, tossing it up and down. The men were scared.

Some of them were experienced fishermen, but we all know fear can grip even the most experienced. Suddenly, on the waves stood something. The men gazed intensely. “It is a ghost!”, someone yelled. Then, the “ghost” spoke: “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Could it be! Yes, it was Jesus. He was with them, walking on the water toward their boat. At that moment, one of the men stood up and boldly said: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” He knew it was. That was the only reason he made the statement he did. Jesus simply replied “come.”

At that moment, Peter confidently stepped out of the boat to walk to His Lord. Yes, Peter was walking on the water like Jesus! The men in the boat were amazed. Peter had never felt such a sensation. Then, the wind whipped Peter’s hair. The water smacked against his legs, stinging like angry bees. Peter looked from side to side. Fear, once again, took over. Peter began to feel himself sink. He cried out “Lord, save me!” Then, Jesus did something. Don’t miss this!  Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter and said to him: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Awesome! Peter was sinking, and Jesus reached down and lifted him out of the water.

This story reminds us of that when we trials, we must: 1.) Look back to God’s promises; 2.) Know that Jesus is always with us and 3.) Trust in who Jesus is.

Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side. Sometimes, when trials come into our lives, we forget what God’s Word promises. He will get us through. When they did get out on the water, the wind and waves struck fear in their hearts. But Jesus came to them. The truth is, when we face trials, Jesus is already with us. Jesus knew what the disciples were going to face on the water that night. God is never surprised by our circumstances. Finally, when we do doubt. When we are afraid. When we make poor decisions in the midst of our trial, Jesus shows us grace. Just like Peter, Jesus will catch us. Remember, you are HIS. He paid a heavy price for you. He loves you and will never leave you.

There is more to the story. When Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat, those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”  Today, even if you are facing a great trial in your life, take a moment to praise the One who is your Savior.

Christian,

Do you feel like every day of your life is a struggle? You seem to face battle after battle after battle. Often as followers of Jesus Christ, we wrestle with this. Why? Probably because we’ve bought into the lie that once we’re saved, our life will be easy and without problems. After all, we attend “church” and everyone seems to be fine, smiling as though they have not a care in the world. I mean, that’s what Jesus does for us, right?

Well, that’s not exactly what we find in God’s Word. If you read it for very long, you can’t help but to realize the fact that following Jesus will mean struggles and battles and persecution, often beyond our own abilities to cope. But Jesus faced those same struggles (Hebrews 4:15). In fact, if one looked at the life and ministry of Jesus on this earth, he would probably say they were failures. Why failures? Because Jesus’ own people rejected Him. His own family. He was persecuted, debated, called a blasphemer and eventually killed because of who He claimed to be. As He hung on the cross, only a handful of His relatives and friends watched. All the rest left Him (Matthew 26:56).

This was no surprise for Jesus. In fact, He tried to prepare His disciples for what would come – not just to Him but to them, also. Jesus warned His disciples then and His disciples throughout history that a life committed to following Him would not be an easy one (John 15:18). Listen, our life as Christ followers is going to be hard. It may even cost us our very lives. We must expect that. Whenever you stand for what is true, right and good, you will face opposition. War is being waged, and Jesus’ followers are in the middle of it.

But there is good news. God has promised to see us through our struggles and battles and persecution. He didn’t say we would not have to go through them. We will. But He did promise to provide us a way through the trials – Jesus Christ. Our God promises to ALWAYS be with us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Let us find great comfort in those truths.

My God has called me to follow Him, and I will. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).