Where you fix your gaze is where you end up going

Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out ‘Lord, save me’

Matthew 14:29-30

Today is one of those rare days between storms, it’s not raining and the sun is shining. Recently however the winds topped 100mph in North Wales, trees in the park opposite my home lost their branches, and large parts of the United Kingdom either sat under flood waters or were at imminent risk of flooding. Two years ago ground water levels were so low that large areas of England had hosepipe bans, today the levels are so high that flooding is expected to continue long after the rain finally stops. Our television news has regularly featured people who were looking at the storms and were afraid.

This set me thinking, and I was reminded of Peter walking on water. His problem was that when he saw the wind he was afraid and began to sink. Let me illustrate why he began to sink with an explanation dear to my heart – an explanation from the world of motorcycling. Sometimes motorcyclists get a bit carried away with things and find themselves in a tight corner carrying a little too much speed to get round safely. When you are riding a motorcycle then there is a golden rule – where you look is where you go. So, if you find yourself in a corner going too fast to get round safely, looking at the corner will almost inevitably mean crashing. If, however, you force yourself to look at the exit of the corner then in all likelihood you will make it safely through the corner and on to the next bit of road.

So it was for Peter, when he looked at the wind he began to sink. Up until that point he had been walking on water because he had his eyes fixed on Jesus. As soon as he looked away toward the wind and the waves he began to be afraid and his fear overpowered him and faith evaporated leaving him with the desperate cry “Lord, save me.”

And so it is for us. Whether it is the wind and the rain, or perhaps financial worries or health concerns, or maybe despite our best efforts things are not working out as we hoped in some area of our lives, the answer in all these situations is to determine to look away from the problem and fix our eyes upon Jesus. So why not use the storms we see outside as a reminder, and each time the wind blows or the rain falls take a moment to say “Lord, I trust in you.”