Trusting Jesus in Times of Doubt

“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’”-Matthew 14:25-31

Jesus gives us the power to do things that we cannot do on our own, like trusting Him when we are scared, unsure, or in doubt of what He can do. The disciples experienced what Jesus could do firsthand but still doubted. In the morning after Jesus returned to meet up with them after praying, they became afraid and doubted who He was by thinking He was a ghost because He was walking on the water. After all the time they spent with Jesus they still struggled to trust Him. Is trusting Jesus a struggle for you?

You are not alone, and it happens to everyone. It happened to Peter when he took his eyes off Jesus. After turning his focus away from Jesus, he became scared and began to sink. Jesus did not get angry with Peter, but corrected him by reminding Peter that he had little faith and he had no reason to doubt because He was there.

We will have the same struggle at times but when we do, we turn to Jesus for help. He prevents us from sinking into despair of the storms of life. We need to keep our minds focused on Him. It is done through prayer, studying the Bible, and help from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

Give us faith to help us trust You. Like Peter, we doubt too. Sometimes, we need a reminder from the Holy Spirit that no matter what happens, You will be there to guide us. Faith is needed in our life because there will be windstorms that try to knock us down. Thank you for Jesus who will be there to support us and will help us from sinking into despair. In Your wonderful name we pray, Amen!