Have Peace in the Midst of the Storm When You Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

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Finding peace in the midst of the storm when life is raging around you is difficult, even for those who have great faith, like Peter. It is not always easy to have faith and trust that God is in control. We often get overtaken by the waves and feel like we are lost, alone and drowning in hurt, pain, sorrow. How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when the storms of life seem to overtake you? Read on to learn more!

Updated and republished from 12/11/2019

Peter Finds Peace in the Midst of the Storm While His Eyes Were on Jesus

In Matthew 14 we find the story. Jesus had gone off to the hills to pray after the feeding of the 5,000. He sent the people home, sent His disciples off in a boat and He went on His own to pray until after dark.  

As He prayed, the disciples had found themselves in the midst of a violent storm. It was roughly 3am when Jesus, in the midst of the storm, comes walking to them on the waves of the Sea of Galilee. 

Now it is important to note here that Jesus had not calmed the storm as He had on another occasion when He was sleeping in the boat. He walked to them while the storm raged around Him. 

The disciples see Jesus and believe it is a ghost, until Jesus reassures them that it is truly Him.

But rather than simply believe this miracle working Messiah was there with them in the midst of the storm, Peter (oh it is always you, Peter) wants proof. He tells Jesus that if it is really Him, allow him to walk on top of the water to Him.

Jesus grants his request. 

So Peter walks on water toward his Messiah who is there in the waves with him. He is literally there with Jesus! I can’t imagine, even in the middle of this storm, that you would feel anything but safe with Jesus physically holding out His arms to you!

But as soon as the waves kicked up, Peter looked away from Jesus and looked to the waves and he began to sink. He called out to Jesus to save him, which Jesus does but also issues a rebuke of Peter’s lack of faith. 

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus – Matthew 14:25-32

Now in the fourth watch of the night, Yeshua came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out with fear.

But immediately, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, “Take courage! I am. Don’t be afraid.”

Answering, Peter said to Him, “Master, if it’s You, command me to come to You on the water.”

And He said, “Come!”

And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Yeshua. But seeing the wind, he became terrified. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Master, save me!”

Immediately Yeshua reached out His hand and grabbed him. And He said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

TLV

Why It’s Important to Keep Your Eyes on Jesus in the Storm

Peter had been walking on water in the middle of the storm but as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on his problem, he began to sink. 

Jesus was right there with him in the midst of the storm and yet his faith faltered and he worried more about the power of the storm than the One who controls the winds and the waves.

Peter had been walking on water in the middle of the storm but as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on his problem, he began to sink. Click To Tweet

I do find it interesting to note that Jesus didn’t calm the wind and waves to make Peter feel safer on the water. It tells us the wind stopped after they got back into the boat.

God isn’t just about making all your problems magically go away. He is about getting you through them and making them teaching opportunities so you can exercise your faith.

He went to them in the midst of the storm. He went to them in the midst of their fear. He met them in the problem, He didn’t take the problem away.

Oh but our friend Peter wanted proof that Jesus was there with them and Jesus granted that proof.  

You see, Peter had already seen Jesus at work in the storm. He had been in the boat while Jesus slept. He had been there when Jesus awoke and calmed the wind and waves. Peter knew Jesus commanded even the weather! 

He had been there when Jesus healed the blind and lame! He had been there when Jesus cast out demons. And yet in the midst of the storm he looked at the problem instead of the problem solver. He doubted.  

Do we do the same or do we keep our eyes on Jesus in spite of the wind and waves that threaten us? 

When you take your eyes off Jesus and focus them on the problem, we sink. Rather than having peace in the midst of the storm, we falter and fall, we are overcome by it.

Do You Keep Your Eyes on Jesus or on the Waves?

Peter is a great example of how we often react to the fierce storm around us. When the storms of life rage around you, when you go through hard times in the midst of life do you keep your eyes focused on the problem or the problem solver? 

You see, like the disciples learned, Jesus won’t always take the storm away. But He will be there with us in the midst of it.

He will be there with us in the middle of our sickness, our job loss, our failing marriage, our kids falling away, our financial problems. And, like Peter, He will allow us, if we place our faith in Him, to rise about the storm and walk on the waves.

Are you a wave walker or are you sinking in the sea of life’s turmoil? Do you keep your eyes on Jesus or are you watching the waves? The same Jesus that let Peter walk on water will put His hand out to you as well and bear you up. 

When the storms of life rage around you, do you keep your eyes focused on the problem or the problem solver? Click To Tweet

Peace in the Midst of the Storm – Noah and the Flood

Let’s take a trip back into Torah. Our friend Noah didn’t escape the flood. The flood raged around him and yet God Himself sealed Noah and his family safely in the ark.

They still were still in the midst of the storm that destroyed all living creatures but Noah had faith enough to construct a boat without a sign of rain because he knew God was a promise keeper! He withstood being mocked, ridiculed and persecuted because his faith in Adonai was greater than his fear of people’s opinions. Adonai said build it and he did.

For forty days the waves crashed against the ark and yet Noah and his family kept their eyes on Adonai’s promise. Like Noah, the storm may rage all around you but God has made you a promise that He will be there with you. 

Noah didn’t keep his eyes on the waves, he kept his eyes on the sky! 

Noah didn't keep his eyes on the waves, he kept his eyes on the sky! Click To Tweet

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus and Walk on the Waves

When we get a bad report, when life hands us trials and struggles (and it will), when we feel alone and wonder how we will ever get through the day, walk on the waves. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the perfecter of our faith and go to Him and He will give you peace in the midst of the storm.

He is standing in the storm with his arms outstretched calling you to walk to Him, you just need to keep your eyes on Him and off the storm. He will handle the storms in life. He will calm the wind and waves. And when it seems He doesn’t, you just need to worry about keeping your eyes on Him and like the moment Peter walks on water when he kept his eyes on the wonderful face of our Messiah, you will walk through your storm with your eyes on Him.

The problem may not disappear. The turmoil might worsen for a time. But God has it under control and He is working in the midst of the storm!

We don’t see what He does and we don’t know what He knows. 

When my husband and I went through the storm where he was looking for a new job and every door seemed to slam shut, we could have looked at the waves.

And I won’t tell you there weren’t times we glanced at them for a moment, but then we lifted our eyes up and saw God doing an amazing thing!

What we thought was the worst time in our lives turned out to be the absolute best! When we focused on the waves we felt like we were sinking. When we looked up to keep our eyes on our Messiah, we saw the amazing, wonderful things He was doing.

Watch Jesus and be a wave walker and find peace in the midst of the storm! Keep your eyes on Jesus!  

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Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.