Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But 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 heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
I love this story. I’ve been on a journey that is taking me to amazing places spiritually. An opportunity for God to dig deeper and in turn draw out much more than I could imagine. So, this story of Peter really hits home right now.
The disciples were all freaked out. They were in the middle of a huge storm, anything could happen to the ship or to them and then all of a sudden this ghost appears. So things went from bad to worse. When Jesus says it is Him, Peter immediately responds. Believing he has seen and heard Jesus, Peter goes for it. He wants to be where Jesus is…right now. Of course as Peter steps out of the boat, he allows his fear to settle back in and he sinks. I love what Jesus says after He lifts Peter back out of the water. “Dude! I called you out of a boat, in the middle of a storm, to walk on water, which you did, and then you second guess me?” (Brent paraphrase).
This hits home right now. In discussion at Mandy’s over “DOing Something”. This common theme came up. “But what about making the wrong decision?” This is my greatest fear. I am more than willing to say, I don’t know. Especially when it comes to a decision that could have a major affect on mine or my families lives. But, I keep going back to this story. If Jesus didn’t want us to experience life, He would never have called Peter out of the boat. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. He was going to call Peter out and test his faith. Then in the midst of Peter’s failings, he was going to remind Peter that He is still in control.
We can look at Peter sinking and say, he failed. But I think he succeeded the moment he stepped out of the boat. It’s easy to say we trust, but much harder to put that into action. Whatever happened to peter on that journey from the boat to Jesus was insignificant compared to the decision he made to go for it. Heck, some of us may still be afraid of the ghost.
Now, how do I stop doubting? Any suggestions? Or are we figuring this one out together 
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