We have all seen the commercials for products that (we are told) will change everything. Right?
Use this detergent and your clothes will be whiter
Use this cleaner and your shower will be like new
Use this supplement and you’ll lose 30 pounds in 30 days
Sometimes these products actually work, but you have to use them the rest of your life to keep that shower clean or keep that weight off. When a person meets with Jesus, he leaves changed – and when you keep meeting with Jesus, the change is even better than the last meeting! We must never stop meeting with Jesus.
DISTRACTED FAITH
Matthew 14:22-33.
This is the passage where Jesus walks on water (14:25) to meet the disciples in a tumultuous sea (high waves and strong winds, (14:24) and Peter walks on the water to meet Him.
The Jewish mindset of the day would often symbolize the sea as chaos, as danger, and as forces beyond human control (Ps. 77:19; Job 9:8). So, for Jesus to walk on water in front of a Jewish audience would clearly demonstrate divine authority over chaos…and this would be attributed to God alone (thus revealing who He truly is). In emphasizing this perception of chaos and danger, we are told it is the fourth watch of the night (14:25). This would make it about 3 to 6 AM. This time would be the darkest time of the day, and the most exhausting for the men. In short, the disciples are at their weakest. The final piece to this text is their concern that Jesus was a ghost. Belief in spirits or apparitions was common in the first century; however, the disciples’ response was not out of superstition, but rather out of fear (even though Jesus was coming to help them through the storm at sea, 14:26).
Sometimes we will misinterpret divine help when fear dominates our perceptions!
Peter sees the Lord coming and asks to come to Him. Peter does fine until he takes his eyes off of the Lord and is reminded of his surroundings. Peter begins to sink! Jesus immediately reaches out His hand (14:31), rescues him, and then asks, “why did you doubt?”
One day a father taught his child how to ride a bike. The child got on the bike and repeatedly pled with her father, “Don’t let go!” The father told his daughter she would do great and not to worry. As she started pedaling, the father ran beside her holding the back of the bike, and she was doing great! She could do it! She was riding her bike! The father then ran out in front of her and a giant smile spread across her face as she saw her father cheering her on. But then, she suddenly looked down in panic and her handlebars started wobbling and then she lost control and fell to the ground. Her problem wasn’t lack of ability; it was lack of focus.
We can become distracted with our circumstances! We know God’s Word, but then we remember our stormy finances, our tumultuous relationships, our chaotic trials and we start to sink!
Faith responds to God’s call. It is fear that shifts our focus to circumstances, and it is God’s grace that rescues us before failure becomes destruction.
So, notice two things:
Jesus immediately reaches out His hand (14:31). Our salvation is not about the strength of our faith. Our salvation is about the faithfulness of our Savior.
Worship and confession follow salvation (14:33). When Jesus returns to the boat, the storm ceases (14:32). The very next things recorded in scripture are the disciples worshipping the Lord Jesus and confessing He is the Son of God (14:33)! This is the first time in the gospel of Matthew that the disciples explicitly confess the divine Sonship of Jesus. This is a very significant theological turning point for the disciples!
Many years ago, a father was walking with his young child across a narrow footbridge. The child started confidently, but halfway across, the wind picked up. The bridge swayed just enough that fear set in. The child stopped, looked down, and said, “Dad, I can’t do this.”
The father didn’t lecture. He didn’t shout instructions from the other side. He simply stepped closer, reached out his hand, and said, “I’ve got you.”
The child didn’t suddenly become braver. The bridge didn’t stop moving. But with his hand in his father’s hand, they walked the rest of the way across.
That’s Matthew 14.
The storm doesn’t calm when Peter steps out of the boat.
The wind doesn’t stop when his feet touch the water.
And when Peter begins to sink, Jesus doesn’t wait for him to recover his confidence.
Scripture says, “immediately Jesus reached out His hand.”
Our hope isn’t found in how steady our steps are. It’s found in whose hand we’re holding.
Some of us are in stormy seasons right now. Turbulent relationships, heavy decisions, overwhelming fears. Jesus may be calling us to trust Him in ways that feel impossible. And even when our faith feels small, His grip is strong. The storm still rages. The night is still dark. But the hand of Christ never let’s go.
After everything that happened, Peter gets into the boat, the wind ceases…and the only response left is worship.
That image of the father reaching out his hand is such a gentle picture of what Jesus does for us. When Peter begins to sink, Scripture says “immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.” Not after Peter fixed himself. Not after the storm stopped. Immediately Jesus reached out.
And that hand that reached into the storm is the same hand that was later stretched out on a cross. When we come to the Lord’s Table, we’re reminded that our faith has never been about having steady footing. It’s always been about a Savior who steps toward us in our fear, our weakness, and our need…and takes hold of us.
The bread reminds us of a body given for us.
The cup reminds us of blood poured out for us.
Together, they tell the story of a Savior who didn’t just calm storms, but entered into them, all the way to the cross, so we could be saved.
As we prepare our hearts to observe the Lord’s Supper, I want us to rehearse the all-sufficient grace of Jesus. We come not because we are strong, but because He is faithful. We come because He has already taken hold of us. So, let’s take a quiet moment to reflect on that truth as we remember what Christ has done for us.
Sharpen your focus on Jesus. He alone is your enabling strength to walk where He calls you in 2026!