But when he saw the wind and waves, he was terrified and began to sink – Matthew 14:30
In the fourteenth chapter of his Gospel, Matthew tells of a time when the disciples were overtaken by a storm at sea. It was hardly the first time. Many of them were fishermen, and even those who weren’t had at least once been in a similar situation (See, Matthew 8:23-27). On that occasion, the disciples had simply run to Jesus, who had been sawing wood in the stern of the ship as if nothing were happening. Jesus woke up, rubbed his eyes, looked around, and shouted, ‘Silence! Be still!’ And just like that there was a dead calm. The disciples learned that day that even the wind and waves obeyed their Master.
But this time, things were different. This time, Jesus wasn’t with them.
He had insisted that they cross the sea alone while he went into the hills to pray. Then, when the disciples found themselves far from shore, the storm hit. They battled the wind and waves long into the night but were no match for them. They were in over their heads. All hope seemed to be lost.
Jesus, however, had sensed their distress. We can imagine that as soon as the storm arose, he looked seaward. There, intermittently illuminated by flashes of lightning, he saw his struggling friends. And so, he left the hills and walked to the shore. And then kept walking – on the sea.
As he drew close, he shouted, ‘Take courage! I am here!’
Simon Peter, filled with fresh courage, shouted, ‘Lord, if it’s really you tell me to come to you!’
Jesus beckoned to his impetuous friend. ‘Yes, come!’
Simon Peter stepped from the boat and began to walk on the water, fixing his eyes on Jesus. It was amazing. But then, well, most of us know the story: ‘when he saw the wind and waves, he was terrified and began to sink.’
Jesus doesn’t let him sink of course. But we are going to stop right there for an important lesson. It’s a lesson many of us have heard before. I first learned it as a kid in Sunday School. In fact, it’s such a familiar lesson that you may wonder why I would take time to repeat it. The reason is that sometimes, the simplest lessons are the ones that bear repeating. So here it is:
Simon Peter was fine so long as he fixed his eyes on Jesus. It was when he turned his attention to the wind and the waves that he began to sink.
Right now my friends, there is a storm raging. It’s called the Covid-19 virus. It has us all scared. We are doing our best to fight against it, but like the disciples battling the storm, we know that we are in over our heads.
But just as Jesus saw the disciples in their distress, he sees us in ours, and as surely as he does, we know he will come to us.
The question for us is therefore the same as it was for Simon: will we fix our attention on Jesus, or the storm.
John Eldredge issued a short message the other day noting that in the current crisis, the battle is for our attention. Will we focus on the storm and lose peace? Or will we focus on Jesus and find it.
As things continue to unfold in coming weeks, it will of course be important for us to pay attention, use common sense, and adhere to safe practices to ensure the health and safety of ourselves, our families, and our neighbors. But as we do so, let’s not become so fixated on the storm that we begin to sink. Let’s remember there is one who sees us with every flash of lightning. There is one who comes to us in our distress. There is one who calls us to fix our eyes on him and rise above the stormy sea.
Fix your eyes on Jesus. The Master of the wind and waves. He is the one who will save us from the storm.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent
P.S. – I continue to recommend John Eldredge’s Pause App as a tool to help keep your eyes on Jesus in this time. It is free, and you can find it here or in the the App store. It has been a tremendous help to me, and I hope it will be the same to you.