Matthew 14:26-27 ” And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.””
Here we have the account of Jesus sending His disciples, ahead of Him, by boat, as He, Jesus, pulls apart from the crowds to pray. A storm comes up and the disciples are alone, Jesus walks out to be with them and yet they are filled with fear, thinking that they are seeing a ghost they are troubled and filled with fear (vs 26). Jesus responds, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
At least four of these 12 disciples were fishermen, they were familiar with fishing during the night, navigating boats through storms and the perils of the water. Yet in this situation their greatest concern came from the appearance of Jesus, walking on the water, whom they thought was a ghost. That which should have brought great comfort and peace to them brought fear, because they could not perceive Jesus coming to be in the midst of them. How many times are we distraught by the situations around us because we too do not see Jesus in the midst of the situations. We think that God is allowing evil to happen (we see things as if they were caused by a malicious ghost), instead of clearly seeing how Jesus is there to help us.
Too often we focus upon the negative thoughts, the fearful sights or the apprehensive feelings, yet our challenge is to be able to see the working of God and the coming of Jesus in every situation. We can feel that the storms will destroy us, or that the opposing powers will overcome us, and fail to see Jesus with His great power coming to walk into our situation.
Notice that when Peter perceives that this is Jesus approaching, courage and faith arise. He is prepared to go from one situation of stress, being in a storm-fraught vessel, to that of trying to walk on water. Seeing Jesus in the midst of the troubles, changed Peter’s perspective on the circumstances. Stepping out towards Jesus, when the difficulties could easily consume his thoughts, emotions and energy, brought about a miraculous experience, that of walking on water.
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