Peter: Where Is Your Focus?

If Peter wrote a memoir, I could imagine reading something like this: "One night on the seas, as winds blew and the waves beat about in the darkness, a dear friend approached me. He was the most powerful man I have ever met, for he was no mere man. He was the Son of God. I witnessed many of his powerful deeds, saw the lame restored, saw thousands fed from measly portions, and even saw the dead raised. When he came to our side, standing on the turbulent sea, I asked that he permit me to stand by his side on the waters. He granted me my wish, and I came to him. How incredible an event that was. However, I sank into the sea when the winds blew, for I was afraid of the wind; I lacked the faith."

Such would recount for us the events of Matthew 14:22-33. Amid the turbulence of the tossing sea, Peter would walk on the water and come to Jesus. However, the act of courage would be undermined by his sinking in fear. Forever, the emphasized part of the story would be the words of Jesus, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

I do not wish to be hard on Peter. Would I have even left the boat if I were in his position? Or would I have remained like the other eleven? While I maintain I do not wish to deride Peter, I do wish to learn from him - he would also openly want me to.

What do I learn? The failure came because of distraction. He was safe when looking at Jesus - he walked on water. He was compromised when he focused on the wind - then he sank. This reminds me of the necessity of focusing on Jesus (Heb 12:1-2). He is my power, my sufficiency (2 Cor 3:5-6). Without Him, I will fall.

Roy Bennett wrote, "Be Brave and Take Risks: You need to have faith in yourself. Be brave and take risks. You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward." This is probably good conventional advice; however, in the matter of faith, this is poor advice. I do not need faith in myself; I am weak. I need faith in Christ; He is strong.