Represent Retreat Book

WhenFearMeets Faith Read Matthew 14.22-33

Peter’s heart pounds in his chest as he takes that first tentative step out of the boat. He sees Jesus in the distance—standing on the water. Carefully, he begins to walk—his eyes focused on the Savior’s face—but then he hears the whip of the wind and feels it pull on his cloak, and he takes his eyes off Jesus. He looks down at the waves and a sudden fear grips him. Terrified, he begins to sink into the dark water. That’s the thing about fear—once you are in its grip, you feel powerless to do anything. Perspective is everything. When Peter’s eyes were on Jesus, he wasn’t worried about drowning. The moment he looked down, he was seized with fear. When our focus is on our circumstances, we let fear determine what we see. Thankfully, we serve a Savior who understands our weaknesses. He knows that we are easily distracted and overwhelmed, and he is there to rescue us when, like Peter, we cry out to him. Faith comes when we are face to face with our fear. It is when we are confronted with the storms of life that we are able to walk in faith. In the book, A Fragile Stone , the author says of Peter: “The lesson is that Peter needed to sink in order to take the next step of faith. Because walking on water does not increase our faith, only sinking does!” 1 Perhaps you are encountering a storm in your life. Maybe you find it hard to fix your eyes upon Jesus because the waves are too big and the wind is too strong. Be encouraged that the same Jesus who reached down and saved Peter, is still reaching down to rescue us— his beloved children. 1 Michael Card, A Fragile Stone: The Emotional Life of Simon Peter (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 53 21