Uncommen: DistractedSample

My Eyes Are Up Here, Peter

I'm so thankful for Peter in the Bible because he's me. He says, thinks, and does all the wrong things just like I do. Yet, he always wants to be with Jesus. Our story picks up as he tells the disciples to take the boat to the other side while dismissing the crowd. If you've read your Bible, you know the disciples have not had great success in boats. They usually involve some storm, and this story was no different.

This time, Jesus was not in the boat, but instead walking on water toward them. I'm sure this was no less terrifying to witness. Jesus could see they were afraid and told them, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

Instead of saying something like, "oh, it's Jesus...look at what he's doing," what does Peter do? Peter says, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Who does that? Well, Peter does. 
 

Jesus told him to "come," and Peter hopped out of the boat and started walking on water. 

Impressive, right?
 

What seems like about the third step, Peter takes his eyes off Jesus. He gets distracted by the wind and waves. How often do we get distracted by our surroundings and take our focus off Jesus? 

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."

There I am again. Frequently ready to jump out of the boat to walk on water to Jesus only to take my eyes off of Jesus.

When Peter called out for help, Jesus took his hand and said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Why indeed?
 

While we will never have a situation when Jesus is visually walking on water toward us to reconfirm His power over everything, He is no less there for us. He is within that arm's distance, ready for when we call out for help.

I don't know about you, but I want to be able to walk on water toward Jesus without having to worry about the wind and the waves around me.
 

Uncommen Questions:

Do you find yourself doing what Peter does? Willing but easily discouraged?

Are you easily distracted by your surroundings?
 

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge both you and me to train ourselves to trust in Jesus and keep our focus on Him during every storm.

Scripture Reference:
Matthew 14:28-33