Terrified. Fear. Afraid. Doubt. Those words are used in the Gospel for Sunday (Matthew 14:22-33) to describe the disciples' emotions as they found themselves in the midst of a night time storm when they noticed someone walking on the water toward them. That's enough to strike dread in the hearts of any of us. Then Jesus, drawing near to their boat, called out, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." Those were words of comfort in a perilous situation.

"I am with you. Have no fear." We have probably all been faced with circumstances in which we need to hear those words of Jesus. During this past year we have been reminded many times that we are living in a fear filled world. Current events make us feel as if we are trying to walk on storm driven waves rather than on solid ground. We are perplexed about what is happening to the foundations of society. Out of the turmoil we are encouraged to listen to the word of Jesus, "I am with you. Have no fear." He does not promise that everything will suddenly become calm and peaceful, but he promises that he is with us in the midst of it all. In his presence we can experience peace even when the storms rage around us.

There is an interesting twist in this Gospel as Peter responds to Jesus' summons and gets out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus. It seems as if he is making good progress, until he starts looking at the waves and feeling the wind. Then he probably thought, "What am I doing out here?" He was gripped by doubt and fear, and began to sink. Taking his eyes off Jesus and focusing on what was happening around him got him into trouble. Is this an encouragement for us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we walk through life's storms?





Blessings as you keep listening to Jesus' promise: "I am with you. Have no fear."

Duane Ulleland

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