Fear is faith in the wrong thing

Now, this is the crunch; we are always believing something. Good or bad, positive or negative. We have a choice of deciding which way we will believe and what we will believe in. We can choose whether to believe in the power of God or in the power of the storm.

Look what happened to Peter. Here he is walking on water. Wonderful! A glorious experience! But when he saw the wind, he became afraid and began to sink. How could this be?

He failed to keep his eyes on Jesus and considered the circumstances.

Now this is a common experience. We are all like Peter sometimes. When we are experiencing pain, for example, it is very hard to ignore it. But we have a choice of either focusing on the pain or focusing on the Healer from pain.

When we are confronted with a powerful temptation, so powerful that we don’t know how we can possibly resist, we can become preoccupied with that or we can turn our eyes upon the Saviour who delivers us. It’s our choice.

It’s a matter of direction

When we are confronted with financial need, we can look at the need, and we can be preoccupied with that, or we can focus on God’s provision for the need. Fear is simply faith in the wrong thing. It is negative faith.

Instead of being preoccupied with the problem, which is fear; we thrust our faith into the promise of God. Who do we choose?

·The almighty God or an unscrupulous enemy?

·The authority of Jesus or the power of the storm.?.

·Darkness or light?

·Destruction or deliverance?

·Sadness or joy?

·Bitterness or forgiveness?

·Temptation or triumph?

·The world or the Word?

·Our sin or our Saviour?

Where are we going to put our faith? Who are we going to trust?

Peter had two words from Jesus here. One was, ‘Go over to the other side.’ The second was, ‘Come out to me on the water.’ Two words from Jesus, both of which guaranteed he would get through. Yet he still doubted.

We also have the Word of God. What will we do?

What next?

On another occasion at Galilee, the Lord challenged Peter to step out (see also Luke 5:1-6). Consider his response (verse 5). The Bible is God’s Word for us (Psalm 119:105) and we also need to obey. But when it comes down to specifics, not covered by Scripture, we may also be led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14) or by wise counsel (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22). We also need to be prudent (Proverbs 22:3). How do you think these approaches work out in practice? Be specific.