Lord, Save Me!

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Matthew 14:28-32 (ESV) And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 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.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

We have this amazing scene of Jesus walking on the sea, and Peter stretching his faith to join him on his water walk. Peter is beckoned forth by Jesus' answer (“Come”) in response to Peter’s directive. This was probably not Jesus' first thought (Hey Peter come drown in this topsy turvy storming sea!), but He was willing to help his disciples grow in his faith.

We know the rest of the story, Peter takes his eyes off his savior and starts focusing on his surroundings and grows afraid. The result is he begins to sink, meaning he was slowly sinking, not instantly plunging into the water (interesting, I’ve never jumped into the water and slowly gotten wet, it was a pretty sudden transition from warm and dry to cold and wet), but Jesus is suspending all kinds of laws of nature, so why not a slow sinking, giving Peter just enough time to call out to Christ, “Lord, save me.” To which Jesus reaches out and takes hold of Peter, saving him from drowning as they both get into the boat together.

Here’s a few takeaways from this passage:

1. We will get excited to walk where Jesus walks and do what He does
2. Jesus will beckon us to go where we’ve never been before.
3. We may experience fear when we walk obediently into the unknown
4. Our saving grace is to instantly call out to Christ
5. He will take hold of us, correct us, and overcome our storms.

Let’s pray: Lord you are amazing and where you go we want to be. Give us courage to walk as you walk. Help us keep our eyes on you and call on you quickly when we doubt and go astray. May we willingly receive your guidance and admonition when you reach out to us, trusting you to overcome our obstacles as we grow. Thank you for holding us and giving us refuge. In your mighty name we pray, amen.