Walking on the Sea

     In the New Testament, we read of the account of Christ coming to the boat where His apostles were crossing the sea during the night. In the third watch, in the middle of a “boisterous” storm, Christ knows His apostles need Him and walks on water out to where they are. As He approaches, they see Him and are afraid, thinking He was some kind of spirit because human eyes tell that walking on water is not possible. Upon knowing their fears, Christ calls out to them telling them that everything is OK and that He has come to help them. As Peter hears Christ’s voice, he calls out to Christ to help him walk out to Him. When Christ calls to Peter, he immediately leaves the boat to walk on water to Christ. Leaving the safety and security of the boat to do something that is not possible took a large amount of faith on Peter’s part, but as he walks out to Christ, he becomes distracted by the storm around him, his faith turns to fear, and he begins to sink. Sensing he danger he has put himself into, he calls out to Christ to help him. Upon hearing Peter’s cry, Christ “immediately…stretched forth his hand, and caught him.” Upon pulling him out of the water, Christ says to Peter, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst though doubt?”

     In Doctrine and Covenants 88:67, we are taught “if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light,…with light that comprehendeth all things.” As we center our lives on Jesus Christ, we will be able to know Christ and feel Him lift us as we seek His help. That knowledge will sustain us through all things and help us to understand or find meaning in our trials. As Peter walked on water, finding himself surrounded by the raging storm and beginning to sink, he immediately recognized his predicament and who he could call upon for help. He knew that when he asked, Christ would not hesitate for a second to catch him. When we center our lives around Christ, as we come upon our storms, Christ will be there to lift us out of the waters of our fears as we put our faith in Him. The trials each of us face are different but I know that through faith, Christ will be there for us the moment we take one step as long as we stay focused on Him and ask for His help.