Peter’s Walk of Faith

“Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:28,29).

How did Peter walk on water? The secret is in the Lord’s command: “Come.” For Peter, it was one word from the Omnipotent Christ—the Master of wind and wave and circumstance—which bolstered his faith. It reminds us of George Müller, who trusted God to care for thousands of orphan children for more than fifty years, without making any appeal for funds. It also brings to mind the host of missionaries and other servants of the Lord who, at God’s command, stepped out into the seeming void and found the Rock beneath.

But seeing the wind and waves, fear gripped Peter and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Immediately Jesus, having already put out His hand, caught him and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). Peter had his eye on the surroundings instead of on the Lord. Sometimes God allows His servant to reach the last penny or the last crust, and the agonizing brief prayer, but then the miracle of deliverance comes.

—Condensed from Men of the Mountains by T. Ernest Wilson.