The Apostle Peter was a man who stumbled, but never failed to follow Jesus. His life was filled with many lessons that can encourage us today and give us hope for our own walk with Christ.

This post will consider 4 specific lessons we can learn from when he walked on water with Jesus in Matthew 14:25-31.

Lesson 1. Peter had great faith

Peter wanted to take the risk. He wanted to walk on the water – it was his idea (Matt. 14:28). He stepped out in faith when Jesus told him to, even though it didn’t make sense to his natural understanding.

What about you? Where do you need to step out in faith? No matter how hard Peter thought about it, he couldn’t have come up with a way that he could walk on water. Sometimes we need to take the step God is calling us to before we can see how it will unfold.

Where are you staying safe in the boat instead of stepping out in faith onto the water?

Lesson 2. Peter’s doubt came from his natural eyes

Peter doubted when he looked at his surroundings and took his eyes off Jesus. It can be far too easy to take our eyes off Jesus and to become consumed with our circumstances.

When we only look at what is around us, we can’t see things the way God sees them. When Peter looked at his surroundings, his faith withered and he began to sink. The same happens with us today. When we keep our eyes on God, we can walk by faith.

What about you? Is there a situation that makes it easy to take your eyes off Christ? The first step is to recognize it and give God time to give you His perspective on things.

Remember, it’s always about Him and His desire to make you more like Christ. He will use it to build His Kingdom and spread His influence.

We may not always see how, so we need to trust Christ. That is what it means to walk by faith.

Lesson 3. Peter turned to Jesus when he started to sink

When Peter sank (failed), he turned to Jesus, not back to the boat (his old way). When we encounter problems, it can be easy to just focus on the situation in front of us or on how our natural self may want to handle something.

When Peter realized what was happening, he reached out to Jesus in desperation. Jesus saved him and He desires to do the same today.

We are safe when we reach out to Jesus for help, but it doesn’t mean everything will be easy or that there will be no problems.

What about you? Where do you need to turn back to Christ for help? Don’t waste time thinking you need to fix something before you turn to Him. Reach out and grab for His hand  – He is ready and waiting for you.

Lesson 4. Jesus helped Peter immediately

Jesus didn’t leave Peter to fend for himself and figure out how to get out of the situation caused by his doubt. When Peter asked Jesus to save him, Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught him (Matt. 14:31) and will do the same for us today.

Jesus also gave Peter an aspiration when He asked him, “why do you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31). The simplicity of this question from Jesus makes it clear just how unnecessary Peter’s doubt was.

What about you? Where do you doubt? Where can you reach your hand out to Jesus? Just turn to Him and He will help you immediately.

Summing it up

Peter is a great example for us today. He wasn’t perfect and failed more than once, but he always followed Christ. He didn’t let his own shortcomings get in the way or slow him down.

We would do well to walk in the boldness and faith that Peter had. How can you do that today?