“Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:25-31

Peter had the faith that Jesus could enable him to walk on water, and he started well indeed, and was able to. But as soon as he started to look away from Jesus, at the wind and the waves, his faith began to dwindle, and that was when he started sinking.

How many of us are like Peter? We start well, with our eyes on Jesus, with the faith that He will carry us through our lives, but before long our eyes start to look elsewhere. We see the wind and waves of life and our faith begins to fade, and before we know it we find ourselves sinking away and struggling to survive. What are the wind and waves in your life? What causes you to take your eyes off Jesus and start to worry and be afraid, just like Peter did? Is it your studies? Your future? Your friendships and relationships? Your greatest hopes and dreams?

Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” God has a plan for each and every one of us. It may not be what we expect or want, (in fact almost all the time it is not!), but it is the best plan. And if only we could see that and trust Him with our lives and everyday matters, then we would really have no need to fear or worry about anything. He is in control! Whatever happens, whether seemingly good or bad, we know that it is part of His greater plan that is for our good. For He is ever in control and He knows what He is doing. If you set your eyes on Him, seek to be ever closer to Him and to honour Him in everything you do, you can rest assured that as He said, “all these things shall be added unto you.”

But human nature is to worry and fear, and to try and take things into our own hands, and do what we want. Our human nature and trust do not go well together; we would much rather have control of our own lives than to entrust it to someone else, even our almighty God. In the face of our own nature it takes real authentic faith, sometimes a great deal of it, to trust God. But remember that it was faith that enabled Peter to walk on water, and the lack of it that made him sink. Do you desire to walk on water too, in the midst of the storm? Peter had the faith in his heart, but he allowed himself to get fearful. You have the Word of God, you have His promises, you have the assurance of His everlasting love and faithfulness. In the face of your fears, believe in Him, trust in Him. Surrender your fears to Him, pray to the Lord for faith, and dig down deep in your heart and search for it. And you will find that He has put it there, just waiting to be discovered.

Whenever you feel worried and afraid, and you find that your eyes are wandering away from Jesus, and you feel like you are sinking, remember the words of Jesus to Peter- “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”