Traveling Into A New Year with Peter: Fear or Trust

February 11, 1026

Fear. Many times we are afraid… afraid of what we cannot see, afraid of the future, afraid of taking that next step, afraid of failure, rejection, heartache… Fear paralyzes us, holds us back, imprisons us, and kills our dreams…

Jesus’ response to fear:  “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”

Matthew 14: 22-27 (NIV) - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.   After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.  

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.  But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter and the other disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee, sometime during the fourth watch, between 3 and 6 a.m., making their way to the other side… suddenly they see someone walking toward them on the water, and the Bible tells us that they were “terrified.”

What happens next?  First, Peter faces his fear. 

Matthew 14: 28-29 (NIV) - “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”  “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Peter confronts the ghost…confronts the fear…takes it head-on…”Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on the water…”

We must FACE OUR FEARS…

…we must ask ourselves the difficult questions…what are we holding back from, where are we not stepping up, where are we not listening to God’s direction, what faults are we not confessing, what addictions are we not fighting, what situation in our lives are we not allowing ourselves to be counseled in…because of fear. 

We must recognize that it is “ok” to be scared but we must not allow our fear to paralyze our dreams, our potential, our purpose…instead we must confront our fears…I must confront my fears.  As Eddie Rickenbacker writes, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”

Not only must we confront our fear, but we must trust God and ACT. 

Matthew 14: 29 (NIV) - Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Peter gets out of the boat.  Peter walks on the water.  Peter throws his weight overboard.  Peter trusts Jesus.  Peter acts.

In the moment, Peter shows great faith…he believes in Jesus and trusts Jesus to do what he says he will do…”All right, come,” Jesus said.

But trusting God…is only the beginning…we must make a choice…we must take a step…As Dame Flora Robinson writes, “Ask God’s blessing on your work.  But don’t ask Him to do it for you.”

When we begin to look at a task that we have to face or a trial that is ahead of us or a storm that we are currently weathering, we must ask ourselves, according to Dr. Henry Cloud:

“What do I need to do now?  How can I improve my lot?  What do I need to do to get where I want to be?  What skills do I need to develop?  What fears do I need to get past?  Whom do I need to meet?  How can I invest my talents?  Those questions address steps toward proactive initiation, which God’s system demands of those who expect success.  Then He asks us to ask Him for His provision to open doors and make opportunities for that initiative to be exercised.  We must pray, and we must also act…Don’t just sit around and wait.”    

What steps are you taking to face your fears?  To face the situation you are in?  To “step out of the boat”?  To reconcile that relationship?  To improve your life?  To pull through the trial you are battling? 

First, we must face our fears…secondly, we must ACT…lastly, we must STAY FOCUSED…we must keep our sights on Jesus

Read Matthew 14: 30-33 (NIV) - But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

“Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” 

Everything is going fine.  But then, Peter takes his sights off of Jesus and places them on the waves around him, on the wind blowing in his face, on the dangers that surround him on the Sea of Galilee. 

The moment Peter takes his sights off of Jesus, he begins to sink.  He cries out, “Lord, save me!”  Jesus reaches down and catches him, replying, “You of little faith…why did you doubt?” 

If we take our sights off of God and place them on the task at hand, the problem we face, we will, many times, feel overwhelmed.  It will be easy to give into our fear and become paralyzed. 

Jesus doesn’t promise we’ll never face fearful circumstances.  Instead, he teaches that God is greater than whatever we are facing… that God is in control.  Faith means trusting that we never face dangers alone.  Knowing God is present keeps fear from paralyzing us.

It is time to confront fear…to give our fears to God…

It is time to get out of the boat…to take that step…to ACT…

It is time to focus…to keep our sights on Jesus and not the storms surrounding us…

A final story…

An artist was commissioned by a wealthy man to paint something that would depict peace. After a great deal of thought, the artist painted a beautiful country scene. There were green fields with cows standing in them, birds were flying in the blue sky and a lovely little village lay in a distant valley. The artist gave the picture to the man, but there was a look of disappointment on his face.

The man said to the artist, “This isn’t a picture of true peace. It isn’t right. Go back and try again."

The artist went back to his studio, thought for several hours about peace, then went to his canvas and began to paint. When he was finished, there on the canvas was a beautiful picture of a mother, holding a sleeping baby in her arms, smiling lovingly at the child. He thought, surely, this is true peace, and hurried to give the picture to the wealthy man.

But again, the wealthy man refused the painting and asked the painter to try again.

The artist returned again to his studio. He was discouraged, he was tired and he was disappointed. Anger swelled inside him, he felt the rejection of this wealthy man. Again, he thought, he even prayed for inspiration to paint a picture of true peace. Then, all of a sudden an idea came, he rushed to the canvas and began to paint as he had never painted before. When he finished, he hurried to the wealthy man.He gave the painting to the man. He studied it carefully for several minutes. The artist held his breath.

Then the wealthy man said, "Now this is a picture of true peace." He accepted the painting, paid the artist and everyone was happy. And what was this picture of true peace?

The picture showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. The artist had captured the furry of the wind as it whipped black rain clouds which were laced with streaks of lightening. The sea was roaring in turmoil, waves churning, the dark sky filled with the power of the furious thunderstorm. And in the middle of the picture, under a cliff, the artist had painted a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace midst the storm that raged about her.

Preacher Tim Zingale writes:

As we live with all the brokenness of sin, with all the tension of this sinful world, we cry out, we long for some peace to somehow insulate, or protect us from all the fury around us. We are very much like that wealthy man, searching, dreaming, wanting peace in the middle of the fury of life. We search, we long, for that peace. We even call out as the disciples did to Jesus in that sinking boat, we call out to God for peace, for comfort. We call out to God, wondering if He is around, wondering if He is sleeping while we are searching.

The question asked more often by human beings is always some variation on this theme, ‘Where are you, God?" Or "God, are you sleeping?" or "God, are you dead?" or God, do you hear me?" or "God, why don’t you answer me?"

And God’s answer, God’s only answer, God’s answer that only we who have put our faith in Christ can understand is this: "I am in the midst of your struggles…I am with you  through the crucified Christ" "Yes, I am here, I am with you as I was with my Son on the cross of Calvary."

Hear Jesus’ words to you…John 16:33 (NLT) – “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Fear or Trust?  Which will characterize your behavior, your action, your walk with God in this New Year?