Lord, save me

In this incident the disciples, acting in obedience to the Lord’s command, launched out into the sea, whilst He retired to the mountain to pray. Soon, the disciples encountered a great storm and found themselves in dire straits. Strangely, it was only when the disciples had reached the limits of their endurance that the Lord appeared walking on the waves. This further added to their terror, thinking they had seen a spirit. The Lord calmed their fears saying, ‘Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid’, v. 27.

Circumstances like these are also common in our lives, and there are some helpful and comforting lessons that we can learn from them. Firstly, we learn that walking in obedience to the Lord does not grant exemption from the severest of trials. Secondly, in the trial the Lord may not respond to our cries as quickly as we would like, and we may be taken to the very limits of our faith. Thirdly, the Lord will never abandon us, and will intervene to terminate the trial before we are overwhelmed. The apostle Paul reminds us, ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it’, 1 Cor. 10. 13.

Subsequent to the Lord’s appearing, Peter asked the Lord to bid him come to Him, and at His bidding he stepped out of the ship and was walking on the sea. But when he took his eye off the Lord, and became occupied with the wind and waves, his confidence was shaken, and he began to sink. In his distress he cried, ‘Lord, save me.’ The Lord immediately responded, chiding Peter for his ‘little faith’.

From this final scene we learn that if we invite the Lord to test our faith, as Peter did, we must be prepared to face the consequences, and to trust Him in the test that comes along. It is so easy to have strong faith when we are in the ship. But even if, like Peter, we embark on a certain course with over-confident bravado, and discover that our faith is not as robust as we thought, in His love He is always ready to answer that urgent prayer, ‘Lord save me’.