Matthew 14:29-31 - Courage or Fear; When in the Storm?
Matthew 14:29-31 (KJV) And he said, Come.
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he
walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he
saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and
beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand,
and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Matthew 14:29-31 (CWR) Over the noise of the
storm, Jesus replied, "Come!" So Peter jumped over
the side of the boat and into the waves. He
found that he, too, could stand on the water! Then
with his eyes on the Lord, he started walking
toward Jesus. 30 "Peter began to feel proud and
turned to look at his fellow disciples. When he
looked back toward Jesus, a huge wave came between
them. Suddenly Peter became afraid. He started to
sink and cried out, "Lord, I'm going down! Please
save me!" 31 Jesus reached out, grabbed Peter's
outstretched hand and pulled him back up. He said, "Why
did you lose faith and begin to doubt? You need
to keep your eyes on me."
COMMENTARY PEARL
Courage or Fear?
Lets give credit where credit is due.
No one else volunteered to walk on water - not
James, not John, and not any of the other
disciples. But Peter did. So Jesus told him, Yes,
come (Matthew 14:29 NLT).
What happened next? Matthew tells us that
Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on
the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the
strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and
began to sink. Save me, Lord! he shouted
(verses 29"30 NLT).
Peter sank because he was afraid and
because he took his eyes off Jesus. When fear
reigns, faith is driven away. Fear and faith dont
hang out together. Either faith will be there, or
fear will be there. But when one walks in, the
other walks out.
Sometimes were doing well, and then we
look at the wind and waves in our lives, and we
begin to sink. We check our email or social media,
or we turn on the news, and it causes our
hearts to panic.
Peter began to sink because he took his
eyes off Jesus. And when take our eyes off Jesus,
were going to sink as well. When we forget
Gods promises to us, well start to sink.
But then Peter called out to Jesus, and
He immediately reached out and grabbed
[Peter]. You have so little faith, Jesus said.
Why did you doubt me? (verse 31 NLT).
In the early days of the COVID-19
pandemic, I heard a doctor on the news say something
that Id never heard before: Courage uses the
same pathways as fear.
When youre facing the storms of life,
you have a choice: either you can be afraid,
which is easy, or you can be courageous while you
keep your eyes on Jesus. [By Greg Laurie from
Harvest Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
In the Storm
After Jesus disciples fought a raging
storm for nine cold hours, at about 4:00 AM the
unspeakable happened. They spotted someone coming on the
water. A ghost! they said, crying out in
terror. (Matthew 14:26 MSG). They didnt expect
Jesus to come to them this way.
Neither do we. We expect him to come in
the form of peaceful hymns on Easter Sundays or
quiet retreats. We expect to find Jesus in morning
devotionals and meditations. We never expect to see him
in a divorce or a foreclosure. We never expect
to see him in a storm. But its in a storm
that he does his finest work, for it is in storms
that he has our keenest attention.
Jesus replied to the disciples fear
with an invitation worthy of inscription on every
church cornerstone and residential archway,
Dont be afraid, he said. Take courage. I am
here! (Matthew 14:27). [Max Lucado Daily
Devotional at maxlucado.com]
CLOSING PEARL
Peter said, Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water. So Jesus
said, Come. For a few heart-stilling
moments described in Matthew 14, Peter did the
impossible. He defied every law of gravity and nature.
Then he shifted his attention away from Jesus,
and he sank like a brick.
Give the storm waters more attention that
the Storm Walker, and get ready to do the same.
We cant choose whether or not storms come.
But we can choose where we stare during a storm.
Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on
Jesus. Courage is always a possibility. Feed your
fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your
faith, and your fears will starve. Storms are not
an option, but fear is. [Max Lucado Daily
Devotional at maxlucado.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Matthew 14:29-31 - Victorious Faith Comes
From Jesus.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2015/20150122-0939.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
