Are you looking for true inner peace that will sustain you during times of doubt or trial? Or are you believing for something that God has spoken to you but the voices of reservation or uncertainty are calling you back from believing you heard from God? Or do you have people in your life who don’t know God and they are in turmoil and you want to introduce them to the God of peace? No matter what the reason is for wanting inner peace the path is always the same. KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS! Do not fear! Do not look to the right or the left! Do not look at your circumstances! Do not listen to the familiar voices of disbelief and doubt!
We have an example of this in Matthew 14:22 – 33. It reads, “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.” 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. 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.”
Verse 22 says “immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” The disciples had just witnessed Jesus feeding over 5,000 men plus women and children, which means the number was probably more like 15,000 or 20,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. They had to be astonished and in awe once again at the vast greatness of Jesus. The conversation in the boat must have been like the end of the Super Bowl when a group of guys are recounting the amazing plays of their favorite team and the upset win against what seemed like insurmountable odds.
But as the storm came up and the wind began to blow the voices shouting victory cries soon turned to shouts of fear and anguish! Their peace and joy was interrupted and they quickly forgot about the victory they had just witnessed! Their faith turned to fear! Their hope turned to despair! They were overcome by their present circumstance and they soon began to speak negatively about the situation.
25 & 26 say, “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.”
You would think that those experiencing the life of Christ first hand would have been full of peace, trust, and confidence knowing that the same one who performed the previous miracles would surely perform one now on their behalf. But they didn’t think this way. They turned their eyes on their present circumstance (the storm) and they doubted. They were not even looking for Jesus! And when they saw him they didn’t recognize Him. They thought he was a ghost! Knowing this Jesus called out to them. He didn’t condemn them or tell them to calm down. Verse 27 says, “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” “Be of good cheer” was His response. In other words, encourage yourself in knowing it is me and have peace.
But it is obvious that only one disciple, Peter opened his mind to the possibility of it being Jesus because he said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” The rest of them stood there in fear and disbelief. One thing to remember is that when Jesus answered Peter he didn’t say “Peter it is me Jesus, the Son of God, whom you know, come to Me.” All Jesus said was, “come” and Peter had a decision to make. Does He put His trust in the voice of Jesus beckoning Him to come or does he stay in the boat with the others? Verse 29 says, “So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
The storm was still raging, the winds were still blowing, the other disciples were still screaming! But Peter made the choice to take a step of faith out of the boat, believing he could walk over the circumstance, into the arms of Jesus and find rest for his weary soul! In Matthew 11: 28 & 29 Jesus says to us, “"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” He wants us to trust Him in the same way Peter did at first and to come to Him in our times of trial and fear. The greatest difference between Peter and us is that Christ is no longer afar off; He is living on the inside of us! When we fix our eyes on this truth and apply it to our lives, the peace comes immediately!
Peter was able to walk on water (over the circumstance) only when his eyes were fixed on Jesus and he walked toward Him in faith! We have to get our eyes fixed on Christ in us and the finished work of the Cross if we want to have true inner peace and experience the victorious life of Christ operating in us daily.
One other thing that is important to remember from this story is that behind Peter was a boat full of doubters who must have been saying things like, “There he goes again trying to be different. You’re an idiot Peter no one can walk on water! You’re going to drowned, get back in the boat! This is impossible, you are insane! Watch out for that wave!” I can imagine the immense amount of pressure on Peter to give up and turn around. And at one point he must have listened to those voices because verse 30 says, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
The key phrase in this passage is “when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid” because it shows us that he took his focus off of Jesus and onto his present circumstance! The wind had been blowing when he stepped out of the boat. The storm was already in progress. He lost his footing though when he took his eyes off Jesus which caused him to lose his faith and he began to doubt! How often do you start out believing, trusting, and walking in faith and then at some point you lose your focus and become overwhelmed by the reality of the situation? I have done it often and every time I become afraid.
Now the beauty of this scene is what happened next. Verses 31 & 32 say, “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.”
Immediately Jesus came to his rescue and caught him in His arms. He didn’t stand there and tell him he was an idiot or a fool. He didn’t scream at him. He didn’t condemn him. He saved him! And when we doubt and are afraid He will do the same for us if we cry out to Him in the midst of our distress! In the next portion of the verse Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” but please know this was not a condemning statement. There is only one who condemns and that is the enemy of our souls.
What Jesus said was more like the voice of a mother or father whose child is trying something new and unknown that the parents have done before and have full confidence that their child can do too. Like jumping off the diving board for the first time or taking the training wheels off the bicycle.
When my kids were learning these things and when they got scared I didn’t condemn them or put them down for having doubt and being afraid. I just said things like, “Sweetie why did you give up? You could have done it. I know it’s scary but trust me honey, it is possible. I have done it before and believe me when you do it you will experience such joy and your fear will be gone. We’ll try again later. Don’t worry about it. I love you.” That is the voice of a loving parent speaking hope and encouragement to their child. This is what Jesus did for Peter and what He will do for us as well when we have doubt in the midst of life’s storms or when we are filled with fear. He speaks love, acceptance, encouragement, and peace to our weary souls. Isn’t there comfort in knowing this truth?
Another important thing that happened is at the end of that verse. It says, “and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” Not only did Jesus save Peter but He calmed the storm for everyone who was in the boat! When you walk in the peace of Jesus He will do the same for those who are walking with you during your trial or circumstance and they will say as the others in the boat said, “Truly You are the Son of God.” They didn’t say that to Peter and the people in your life won’t say that to you either. But when they see the awesome power of God through your relationship with Jesus Christ perform miracles, defy natural circumstances, and bring peace to your soul, the credit will go directly to Christ and He will be glorified!
But in order to do this we have to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ and renew our minds to the truth of God’s word. We have to remind ourselves constantly that every circumstance we face in life Christ has already walked over! Every pain, hurt, sickness, disease, sin, trial, and hardship He took on at the Cross. At His resurrection He quieted every storm in us and gave us the opportunity to have an everlasting inner peace that surpasses human understanding! He defeated the one who is the voice of doubt, satan, and He took his power to destroy us away if we keep our minds stayed on Him!
There will always be storms that come up but remember Jesus’ words in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
If you want to experience true inner peace it is important to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what the circumstance. It is also important to tune out the voices of doubt in your life that are speaking against you walking in faith. The only way to do this is to get the word of God on the inside of you so you know how to release the power of Jesus into the situation. You can’t muster up faith because the Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of God! You also have to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit because the Bible says He is our counselor, our guide, and our comforter!
Remember only one stepped out of the boat and experienced something no one else in his life ever experienced! Do you want to be that one? Start today by spending time in the Bible, spending time in prayer, and by putting your focus on the only one who can bring you true and everlasting inner peace, JESUS CHRIST!
