Life is difficult. Grief rises as dear ones are no longer with us, depression from bad situations, and guilt at poor decisions. Many are hurting and hungry, homeless and lonely. Broken families, the jobless, and the sick are everywhere. Where is God in all this? Doubt affects us. How we react to it defines who we are.
Once, in a storm, Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and yelled, Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water. When Jesus replied, Come, Peter walked on the water, too. But on seeing the wind, he began to sink. Jesus saved him and said, You of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:25-31)
Wasn't Jesus being harsh and unfair? After all, Peter showed considerable courage and devotion. Would you have jumped out of a perfectly good boat during a storm? And for a bit, Peter did walk on the water. So why yell at him for having some doubts? But that's not what was really going on.
Have you ever noticed that Jesus never told Peter he would walk on the water? Peter was testing Jesus. If it's you... Jesus' reply was merely, Well, I am me, so okay, come. Then He allowed Peter to begin his walk on the water. He made the way for him. As for continuing, He left that to Peter.
As Peter climbed out of the boat, Jesus already knew he would not make it on his own. So why let him do it? Because Peter didn't know he could not make it on his own. He had to learn to keep his focus on Jesus...to trust Him and not lean on his own understanding. Sound familiar? (See Proverbs 3:5)
But as fear took hold, Peter began to sink. Isn't that odd? When a heavy, non-floating body is placed on water, it sinks. Suddenly. Quickly. There's no time to cry out, Lord, save me! But that didn't happen. Peter only began to sink, as though he were sloshing through rising water.
When Jesus asked, Why did you doubt?, He wasn't yelling at or putting Peter down. There's nothing in the text to indicate that. What the text does tell us is that Jesus simply asked a question. He wanted Peter to understand what he was doing. We know this from the special word used here for doubt-distazo.
Doubt arises in many situations, but the kind of doubt can be different. That is true here. Distazo is uncertainty about which way to take or what to believe when there are contending (opposing) paths. But the essence of the word means "to stand in two ways." Under disatzo, we do not choose one way or the other. Instead we try to follow both.
Peter's mind shouted, "Save yourself. This is impossible." His heart called, "All things are possible with God. Go to Him." If he followed reason, he would drop like a stone. If he followed faith, he could run to Jesus. But he was uncertain and began to sink. Jesus then asked, Why do you listen to both?
The lesson is simple. We cannot follow Jesus and the world. We cannot stand in two ways, trying to do both. We must choose. To follow Jesus means exactly that, following Him and no other. We must keep our eyes on Him.
This kind of doubt is common to all. God knows that. When we doubt in this way, He doesn't yell at us or put us down. He lets us learn from our uncertainty, always standing next to us, whispering, Follow me.
