To Be Like Peter: Absolute Trust

As a child, I remember trusting my parents for specific things … to get me the bike they knew I wanted for my birthday, to defend me against a false accusation, to pick me up on the far side of town late on a school night when I should have called earlier, and to take care of me when I was extremely ill. Along with those kinds of specific events, I also trusted them for general maintenance … to feed me, house me, clothe me, take me to the doctor, get me to and from school, go to parent/teacher conferences, attend my events, and think I was wonderful. I can say with total sincerity that it never occurred to me that those things might not happen. I knew they would happen because I knew my parents.

In Matthew 14, we see Peter display the kind of absolute trust that comes from truly knowing someone. The disciples were out on the lake in the dark experiencing high wind and waves. Jesus came to them, miraculously walking on top of the water, when Peter asked to join Him. Most discussions of this story emphasize Peter’s lack of focus once he got out onto the water. Looking at the storm instead of at Jesus he became frightened and began to sink. While there are many life lessons from Peter’s failure, I would like to back up to his desire to get out of the boat.

Jesus walking on water makes an amazing story. But, we know He was (is) God and we accept that He could do miraculous things. What about Peter, though? I believe the story becomes astonishing when we consider what he did. No reasonable person would step out of a boat in the middle of a lake during a storm. That would be at best foolish and at worst suicidal. Peter, however, was neither of those things. But neither was he reasonable, for he risked everything to trust the One who called him to join Him in a humanly impossible situation. He could feel the strength of the wind, for he had been struggling against it. When he stepped out, he could feel the sting of water against his legs and the instability of the waves beneath him. He could probably hear the voices of his friends begging him to stop, pleading with him to stay where it was safe. Yet none of that stopped Peter.

Absolute trust moves us forward even when faced with opposition and seeming impossibilities. Trust enables us to risk, and thus experience true safety in the arms of the One who will never let us go. Is the wind pushing against you? Can you feel the sting of life? Are loved ones urging you to stay while the voice of the Lord calls you to come? Don’t be the one watching from the boat as someone else trusts God enough to live a miraculous life. Trust Him, and get out of the boat!