Walking on Water

When I was little, I was fascinated with the story of Jesus walking on the water. I always wished that I had the power to do that too. Sometimes when I would go to the pool, I would place my flip-flop covered foot on the very top of the water. The water tension against my shoe felt like I could almost step down and stay afloat, but whenever I attempted it I would somehow end up at the bottom of the pool. This only intrigued me more and I've continued to think about the story throughout my life.

Matthew 14:22-31 relates how Jesus stayed ashore teaching while the disciples went out to sea. Verse 25 says, "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." The fourth watch refers to the time between about 3 and 6 am. So when in verse 26 it says, "And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear" I can understand why they would be afraid. If I was still awake at 3 am, my first thought would be that I was seeing something, and then I would probably wonder what kind of ghost was coming to get me.

But Christ, seeing their obvious fear, responds in verse 27-"straightway, Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Christ knew His desciples and understood their fears, and He sought to bring peace to His frightened followers. This is followed by one of my favorite stories in verses 28-31 as Peter attempts to walk to Christ, but falls short of his goals and must then be rescued by the Savior.

When I was little, walking on water was just a cool idea, something I thought would be fun. But now I recognize it for the powerful symbol it is of faith and trust in the Lord. Christ had faith enough to actually walk on water. Peter had the beginnings of faith enough to trust that when the Lord told him to "Come" he came down out of the ship and began walking toward the Lord. This same invitation is extended to everyone. Christ's entire ministry is the message of Come. Come to the Lord. (see Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Nephi 26:33 Moroni 10:32-33) The Sermon on the Mount begins with an invitation to come to God and be like He is. (Matthew 5:3-16) Only in and through Christ can we come back to our Father in Heaven and live with Him forever. (Alma 16:13+15)

In Matthew 14:28-29, Peter desires to come to Christ, He tells Peter to come, and Peter proceeds to leave the ship and begins to walk on water toward Christ. Whenever I read this, I think about my own life. Sometimes I'm surrounded by storms, like the apostles in the ship, but then I see the Savior walking toward me telling me to "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Those moments of assurance help me have the faith enough to start walking toward the Savior- my safety and refuge from the storm.

But, like Peter, I soon realize that I'm trying to walk on water. The thought crosses my mind that what I'm trying to do should be impossible, and I begin to sink. Whether through peers, the media, or other sources, Satan is constantly telling us that we are attempting the impossible in walking toward Christ. He would have us believe that it cannot be done. That we are defying the natural laws of the world and that we will fail in our attempts. We can easily become discouraged by the storms surrounding us, and instead of peace and trust we experience fear. We being to sink.

However, the most reassuring verses in this story follow after Peter begins to falter. Peter "saw the wind boisterous, [and] he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him." (verses 30-31) Christ kept His eye on Peter and immediately reached to help him when he began to sink and called for help. Christ will do the same for all of us. We each have moments of doubt in our lives, and we can often become overwhelmed by that fear. But Christ is always there, watching and waiting to be our personal Savior. All we have to do is have have and call on His name. We read further about how Christ is our personal Savior in the Book of Mormon as Alma testifies about the life and mission of Christ (see Alma 7:11-13) and also in Isaiah's prophecies about the Lamb of God (see Isaiah 53:3-5)
I love the message of Christ to come unto Him. I know He's always walking toward us and, as we have faith, we can overcome the storms in our lives and walk on water.