Keep Focused

Read Matthew 14: 22-31

"All right," the Lord said, "come along!" So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted.

Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. "O man of little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?" And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Matthew 14: 29-31 (TLB)

Gregory N. Seltzer lives in Florida. He has led seven trips to Israel over the past 25 years. During the course of those trips, they always take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. When they reach the middle, Gregory asks the captain to turn the boat engines off. As they drift along in the water, Gregory reads two passages of scripture aloud: Jesus calming the storm (Luke 8:22-25) and Peter walking on the water (Matt. 14:22-31).

On his most recent trip, a small squall began to kick up the waves while they were traveling across the water. It occurred to Gregory that Peter might have seen similar waves and felt a similar wind. And when he took his eyes off of Jesus to look at the storm around him, he became fearful and began to sink.

Gregory thinks we all can relate to Peter when we feel like life is out of our control. But if we turn our focus to Jesus through scripture and prayer, he will always be there to reach out his hand and pull us to safety.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus, for your constant presence. Teach us to rely on you in every situation. We ask this in Your precious name. Amen.