He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus– Matthew 14:29
Although Peter gets a lot of bad publicity regarding this event, because he eventually began sinking in the waves through unbelief, it is as much a lesson in faith as it is in unbelief.
Notice, first of all, that Peter did not get out of the boat and walk toward Jesus until he was invited by the Lord to do so. This may seem like a small detail, but it is actually crucial. Only God knows how many saints are out there today, trying to do the impossible when God has not bidden them to do so.
While it is certainly true that with God all things are possible—even what is impossible for us—we cannot expect to walk on water unless God has invited us to do so. We cannot expect to do the impossible unless the impossible is what God is calling us to.
Also, notice that Peter is the only one out of the boat. No one else even dreamed they could walk on water, but Peter knew that he could do it with Jesus’ help.
And perhaps this is the most crucial lesson from Peter’s water-walking experience — the reason he got out of the boat was to go to Jesus. No lesser goal will suffice. If you seek to overcome insurmountable problems out of any motivation other than drawing closer to Jesus, you will fail every time.
But when Christ bids you draw near to him, don’t let anything, or anyone, stand in your way. No wave can sink you, no ocean can drown you, when He is near. (From “A Good Thing”)
