Fear and Faith
I realize frozen lake stories may not resonate the same with this crowd, who are a bit more used to icy adventures…
However, when I was on internship in Missoula, Montana, my campus ministry supervisor, Pastor John Lund, led our students through adventure and real-life experiences. One morning, we got a call telling us to gear up because we were taking the students ice skating. He informed me that he and his son had driven on the lake over the weekend and it held up, so it was safe to skate on. He told me to grab two things: grab my ice skates and trust.
Those were two things I did not have! I grew up in Kansas, and we only ice skated for birthday parties. And I’m a person who struggles to trust—especially in a situation I’m unfamiliar with. But nonetheless, for the sake of fulfilling my ministry (and being in the mountains), I found some ice skates and hopped in John’s truck.
We got to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It was a postcard scene of a perfect winter wonderland. Students were already out on the lake skating around, yet my Kansas legs were still trembling at the idea of being on the ice. Fear was holding me back from enjoying the fun. Finally, after a lot of talking with God, I stood up on the bank with my ice skates, took two wobbly steps forward, and stood on the ice.
Eventually, I skated out to the group playing hockey and grabbed a stick. It became one of my greatest memories. We spent hours skating on the ice, taking in the views, talking, and playing hockey.
It was a moment I cherish deeply—and one I would have missed if I had allowed fear to continue controlling my heart.
…
Fear clouds our faith. Fear steals moments of living from us. Fear holds us back from claiming our belovedness. Fear is one of the greatest enemies to our faith.
Immediately after the disciples watch Christ feed the masses, they get in a boat to go to the other side. But again, after hearing the news of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus needed a moment to himself. So, Jesus sends the crowds away, sends the disciples off, and goes up the mountain to pray on his own.
While Christ is taking time for his grief, the disciples are not having a good time crossing the sea. The waves are beating against the boat, and a storm is raging around them. They’re terrified. Which is interesting, because several of the disciples are well-known fishermen! They should be used to the waves, yet they are afraid… they are terrified.
Fear has taken root in their hearts, and it is more than just some waves and rain dampening their spirits. Maybe they fear the storm. But there is a detail we might miss at first glance: the disciples are heading toward “the other side.” They are heading into Gentile territory.
“The other side” is unfamiliar, and in their culture, it was often labeled as enemy territory. The disciples aren’t just afraid of the storm; they’re afraid of facing the other side without Christ. They are letting cultural differences and gossip about who the Gentile people are get in the way of God’s Kingdom bringing peace to every person on earth.
The disciples let fear win so much that their faith becomes clouded. When Jesus comes walking toward them on the water, their faith—so consumed by fear—fails to realize it is him. Again, they are terrified, assuming a ghost is haunting their journey to the other side.
Yet, Christ doesn’t rebuke the disciples for their fearful hearts. Jesus reassures them: “It is I.” Or, literally translated, he says, “I AM”—referencing the sacred name of God. And then Jesus tells them, “Do not be afraid.”
Do not be afraid. It is one of the most common phrases in the entire Bible. Fear is one of the greatest enemies of our faith, God knows it, and God reassures us: DO. NOT. BE. AFRAID.
Peter, hearing this command from Christ, musters up his faith and courage to ask Christ to command him to walk on water. Jesus tells him, “Come.”
Peter gets up and begins to walk on water! But then the wind rattles around him, and Peter starts to sink. As he flails in the water, he cries out to Christ to rescue him. Jesus immediately reaches out, grabs Peter’s hand, pulls him up, and says, “Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
And we tend to think, Oh, Peter. You fool. Why would you test Christ like that? Why would you doubt?
However, Peter should represent us all as disciples. We focus so much on Peter’s sinking that we assume he failed to have big enough faith, or that Jesus is judging him.
But Peter didn’t fail! Jesus isn’t judging Peter for his “little faith.”
We cannot forget: PETER WALKED ON WATER! I don’t know about you, but I’ve never walked on water (at least, not without the water being frozen!). Peter had enough faith to follow Christ’s command to come to him. He took bold steps onto the waves.
Just because Peter didn’t walk as far on the water as Christ doesn’t mean he failed.
Nobody needs to walk on water, but everyone needs to trust that God will catch us. Jesus doesn’t judge Peter for his little faith. When we stop reading this story as a story of Peter failing, we begin to see that Jesus is encouraging him: “Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Little faith. We know that is not a judgment or an insult. “Little faith” points us right back to the power of the mustard seed—a story that tells us faith as small as a tiny seed can move mountains. Little faith is enough to get the job done. Peter had little faith, and that little faith allowed him to walk on water. His stumble came only when he doubted.
But notice: Peter didn’t doubt Christ. He doubted himself. Peter never stopped trusting Jesus, even as he fell into the water. He had the trust to call out to Christ once again, this time for help. Peter trusted Jesus every step of the way—even when he stumbled. Peter knew Christ would be there to pull him back up.
Fear tried to take over Peter’s faith. Fear told him that he alone was not enough. That he was not worthy enough to walk on water. Fear blocks our faith. Fear is sneaky, and it likes to separate us from the love of God. Fear tells us we are not worthy. Fear tells us that we don’t deserve God’s grace. But Christ meets us in the storms of our lives. Jesus meets us out on the ice. And tells us: Do not be afraid.
…
Jesus has faith in you. All we need is a little faith, and we too can walk on water every day, for God is with us.
The disciples almost let fear block the Kingdom of God from reaching people in need. Sure, those people were on “the other side,” but that didn’t make them any less beloved or holy. “The other side” simply meant they had to travel; it did not dictate their belovedness.
For there are no “sides” in the Kingdom of God. God doesn’t care about your age, your gender, your sexuality, your race, your ethnicity, or your legal status. God has created YOU—as you are—holy and beloved.
Today, fear wants to draw a line in the dirt and tell us to stay on our side. Fear wants to convince us who is and isn’t worthy, that we aren’t ready, and that the unfamiliar places ahead are far too dangerous.
Now is the time to let that fear go.
We do not need giant, heroic, perfect faith. We only need little faith. We only need enough faith to whisper a three-word prayer: “God, save me,” when the water reaches our knees.
The moment we pray that three-word prayer, Jesus does not wait for us to pull ourselves out of the water. Immediately, God reaches out. Immediately, Christ catches us. Immediately, the Spirit speaks peace into the storm.
Go from here knowing that we do not face the unknown alone. The same God who calms the wind and walks on water is going with us to the other side. Do not be afraid of the work ahead. Bear peace wherever you go, and trust that God is with you.
Amen.
Pastor Kaylie on internship in Missoula, MT.