Back to the Ship

 

In the Bible, there is the amazing account of Jesus walking on the water, and Peter asking to join him, Mathew 14:22-33

22 ¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 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?

32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

The Lord said to Peter, "Come" and some distance Peter took his eyes off the Savior, was afraid, and began to sink. The Savior then grabbed him and saved him. Recently, there has been one verse that has caught my attention, verse 32: "And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased." It has brought to my mind an intriguing question. What happened on the way back to the ship? We know, of course, that the Savior rebuked Peter for his lack of faith when he brought him out of the water. But now with the Savior's help, Peter once again was standing on the water. At this point, they are both now standing on the water, a distance from the ship. As the verse says, when they came into the ship, that means Peter and the Savior somehow made it back to the ship together. I assume they walked to the ship on the water. During this walk, what might the Lord have said to Peter? Did he take this opportunity to teach him further? Did he allow Peter to walk on the water again on his own with the Savior by his side? Personally, I know that the Savior had a great deal of love for Peter and wanted this experience to be a lasting one, so I feel he gave him some encouragement and allowed him to walk on his own again.

I have no idea how far they were from the ship or how much time they would've had together, but what would that have been like for Peter? To walk next to the Savior on the water. To feel his love and encouragement? To spend some time one-on-one with the Savior? I know most likely we will never have a chance to walk on the water with the Savior like Peter, but what can we do in our daily lives to have faith and walk with the Savior? We will rarely be called upon to do some incredible feats of faith like Peter, but the Lord does ask us to exercise faith in our daily walk of life. 1 Timothy 4:12 12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." I pray that each of us, in our daily walk with the Savior, will find the strength to face the challenges in our lives, whether it is something minor like taking a test to something life-altering like learning you have cancer. Always remember that it is our faith that will carry us through all the challenges of our lives and bring us the greatest joy.