When we look to Jesus we are transformed into His image. Let’s illustrate this principle of looking to Jesus with a beautiful story in Matthew 14:
Matthew 14:22-27 NKJV 22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
Let’s pause the story here to say that Jesus always wants us to be cheerful and unafraid. Then Peter did something completely unnatural for an experienced fisherman like him. He got out of the boat in the storm! Let’s continue the story:
Matthew 14:28-29 NKJV 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
As Peter looked at Jesus walking on the water, his faith was stirred up inside of him. He believed he could do just as Jesus was doing, walking on the water. So, he got out of the boat! Now, I can just imagine everything within Peter’s mind is screaming, “Don’t get out of the boat! Don’t get out of the boat!” Our natural common sense and reason tells us we are fools to “get out of the boat.” But Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus and his faith believed that “as Jesus is, so are we in this world.” As our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we are transformed in His image. We become more and more like Jesus. See the result: Peter walked on the water toward Jesus.
Notice also the Lord’s response, “Come.” When our eyes are fixed on Him, He draws us up higher, to Him. He wants us to focus on Him, to calls us to come to Him. As we do, we become more like Him. We go from glory to glory; from miracle to miracle, from great and mighty things to greater and mightier things. But, sadly, that is not the end of the story. Let’s read on:
Matthew 14:30-33 NKJV 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the wind whipping the waves up. Maybe he thought, “Oh, that wave is going to wash over me!” He became afraid. It is the same with us today. We get to looking at our problems, our storms of life and become afraid that they will wash over us, that they will consume us. We become fearful. Again, see the result. Peter began to sink.
In the natural we cannot walk on water. When we take our eyes off Jesus we get into the natural. And we will sink. The solution is to continually behold the glory of Jesus and He will transform us into His image. We will operate in the spiritual realm instead of the natural realm. And there we will be able to “walk on the water.” We will walk over the waves of our storm tossed problems. The confusion and hurts in our minds, the depression, the condemnation, and the fears are replaced with His perfect love, peace and joy. This natural world we are in on earth says these problems are real and are insurmountable. But seated with Jesus in heavenly places we have every spiritual gift we need to rise above those problems and keep our gaze fixed on Jesus.
We must also note in the story of Peter walking on the water that Jesus is always there. Even when we take our eyes off Him for a moment and begin sinking, He will reach out and grab us, to keep us from falling. It reminds me of a verse written by King David:
Psalms 37:23-24 NKJV 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Like Peter, if we do begin to sink, if we fall, we can be assured that we will never be cast down or go under the waves. God upholds us with His hand.
So we come to what I all the two-part guarantee. If we keep our eyes focused on Jesus and do not doubt, we will “walk on the waters” of life’s seas. But if we stumble or look away, Jesus is right there to lift us up and keep us from harm.
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
God’s unmerited favor upon us keeps us above the tempest of life when we are strong in Him and rescues us from those tempests if we momentarily look to our problems instead of looking to Him.
When we face turmoil and troubles on our “life’s seas” we keep looking to Jesus and remember that He is in control. His power is greater than the powers of this world. He is calling us to come, walk on top of the waters with Him. Only in Jesus can we “walk on the waters” and not sink under the waves!
If you would like to experience that love of Jesus and walk through life’s storms with Him, pray this prayer with me:
“Lord, need You. Please come into my life right now. I am sorry for my sins. I turn from my wicked ways and trust in You, my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your love and Your peace. I thank You for loving me. Amen”
If you prayed that prayer, please contact us and tell us about your experience. We care about you!
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