What Are We Trusting In?

Matthew 14:26-31 – When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

A mother was watching her four-year-old child playing outside in a small plastic pool half-filled with water. He was happily walking back and forth across the pool, making big splashes. Suddenly, he stopped, stepped out of the pool, and began to scoop water out of the pool with a pail.

"Why are you pouring the water out, Johnny?" the mother asked.

"'Cause my teacher said Jesus walked on water. And this water won't work." the boy replied.

How many times we do this in our lives, saying that we are going to trust God to deal with something and then putting our trust in the physical thing that we can see, like the boy trying to trust in the water. The Bible tells us that faith is what caused Peter to walk on water, and when he started to doubt that faith, then he sank. God wants to take our problems and help us with them, but most of the time we don't have enough faith to give them totally to him. Why is that so hard for us? God not only wants us to have faith, but even more, to have a relationship with him. The two go hand in hand. Think about your best friend. Do you treat God that way, better or worse? Think about what you can do to increase your faith and your relationship with God.

Prayer: Lord, we try so hard to trust you. Both you and we are so disappointed when we fail. Give us a deeper relationship with you so that we can learn to love you fully and trust you wholly. In Jesus' name. Amen.