And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”- Matthew 14:29-31
Is it possible to always keep your head above water, even when you’re fighting cancer? Is it possible to be free of fear’s tentacles? Just as Peter literally walked on water, this passage implies we can rise above the storms of our lives. But how?
Peter’s experience is a parable of walking with Jesus through the storms of our lives. Peter was walking well, rising above the situation… as long as He focused on Jesus. He was buoyed by His Master’s confidence and serenity. As soon as he focused on the storm, he began slipping down into the deep. So the key is focus – not on our capabilities, problems or human prognoses, but on Jesus’ powers and abilities.
Fears leverage lies about God. So we should face them head on. Let them surface so we can smack them down. One by one they’ll lose their grip as every angle of their deceptions are held up to the light of God’s love and power. Romans 8:35 & 37 encourages us, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Go ahead and add cancer to Paul’s list. Through Christ’s love, we can overwhelmingly conquer cancer as well.
Now, admittedly, there were several times during my battle with Stage IV metastatic melanoma that I sunk well below the surface of the water. Thank God I discovered Peter’s backup plan as I was learning to walk above my circumstances. Whenever I began slipping down into despair, I called out to Him, and His outstretched hand took hold of mine and lifted me back up. Walk on!
Lord, teach us to keep our eyes fixed on you and not our problems; we know You’ll catch us when we slip.
