Walking on Water
When the sparks fly, seeing God in the unexpected
If you have been on this earth for any length of time, your schedules and travel plans have been interrupted by the unexpected, when life’s twists startle and frustrate us. Tires go flat, meetings are cancelled or inconveniently added, we run out of gas, our flight is cancelled or diverted. A thousand little things obstructing us as we try and make our way. Or to look on the bright side, maybe in those moments we accidentally run into an old friend or discover a quaint little town in the middle of nowhere we otherwise would have missed but are glad to have stumbled onto. We have all experienced these things.
What we need to appreciate is there are two things at play, two orders of being and spheres of knowing. There are two realms intermingling. Our own world and those of another, our own plans and grasp of the moment, and another’s perception and intention altogether. The world we physically inhabit and a heavenly realm beyond our sight, two worlds moving along together every moment of our lives. And occasionally we see the sparks fly.
There is a story in the New Testament to help us here. It involves Jesus and walking on water. Not something you would typically expect to see. These days we would describe what happened as a real stunner, something completely beyond belief, yet the narrative appears in three Gospels[1] giving it multiple credence. It seems kind of crazy really, but let’s see what happened.
[22] Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. [23] And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, [24] but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.[2]
The story begins after a day of heavy ministry. Jesus sends his disciples off in a boat to the other side of the sea while he disburses the crowds. Then he goes up a mountain alone to pray. We catch glimpses of this tendency throughout Jesus’ life, his going off alone to pray with his Father. I think it is one of those little details we are not to miss but are to mirror in our own life, our desperate need to spend more time with our heavenly Father.
As evening falls Jesus is alone on the mountain praying but the disciples are in the boat far out on the sea and struggling, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Two experiences. Jesus up on the mountain in the solitude of night talking with his Father, and the disciples far out from land in a boat struggling against wind and wave on a rough and turbulent sea.
So, what happened?
[25] And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. [26] But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. [27] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”[3]
The appearance of Jesus is wholly unexpected, and it shakes the disciples. The fourth watch was early morning between three and six. The disciples had been struggling through the dark night desperately trying to make any headway across the water. They had been laboring unsuccessfully for hours. Then Jesus comes to them walking on the sea. The account given so plainly as if it were the most normal thing to be walking on water. But it is not. Yet the moment comes as an almost calming declaration of Jesus’ complete command of the situation and of the world itself. A simple yet stunning evidence of who he is, absolute Sovereign and Lord of all creation. Of course, when the disciples see him there is confusion. They were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. They cannot reconcile what they see for it makes no sense. It does not fit into the sensate world they know, this is not the Jesus they are familiar with. It is all of another mysterious realm and it completely terrifies them.
So, what is it that settles their minds? Jesus speaks. It is the Word spoken, Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. Jesus speaking a calm and offering his very presence in their struggles. And if we have been walking with Jesus for a while ourselves, we know this experience, the quiet Word within as we face some difficulty. It will be ok, I am with you, take heart. Jesus with us in our trials, calming our storms. We know this experience.
But sometimes we minimize or negate his presence in our lives, we doubt the durability of our faith, or question whether this is all just make-believe and not real at all. We press the point.
In our story this is Peter.
[28] And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” [29] He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.[4]
We admire Peter’s boldness. Confront fear and take action. Jesus says, Come, and Peter gets out of the boat and walks on the water to Jesus. Peter’s faith is preeminent in that beautiful moment, transcending his every sense and the shallow confines of the physical world. Peter steps into a world beyond this world, a faith world, a place of wholly trusting in Christ.
In our own experience of pressing into the faith world and trusting Christ, we are often confronted with life’s hard and seemingly immovable realities. Yet Jesus says, Take heart. He says, Come. Step out of the boat and walk on water. Though we may feel the presence and comfort of Jesus, the world we face screams at us with its manifold jarring distraction, the noise and confusion of our day-to-day existence, and the false whispering of our many shallow wants. And if we are honest with ourselves, these often derail our heartfelt desire to walk by faith and not by sight[5]. But we are not alone.
Peter had the same problem.
[30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” [31] Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”[6]
Having begun in faith, stepping out of the boat and walking on the water to Jesus, Peter is suddenly aware that none of this makes any sense in the world he lives in. He sees the wind and is immediately aware this is not his familiar comfortable reality, it is not possible, and he cries out, Lord, save me. Jesus reaches out and takes hold of Peter.
Then Jesus says, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
We need to dwell on this for a moment. The impression here is one of subdued astonishment from Jesus. Can you not see beyond this transient veil of a world to the infinite eternal world of my Father? Can you not see this, for it is so plain to eyes of faith? Not a reprimand so much as a gentle observation, a loving nudge. For Jesus the eternal world held preeminence over the physical realm, the created world ever subject to the divine. Always. No question. The transient world subsumed in the eternal. This fleeting experience, so ephemeral a world as to be but a brief dream, is only rightly comprehended in the light of God’s forever world. Two spheres of knowing, two realms always in a crazy jumble, our created world and God’s forever realm. Two orders of being in how we view things and conduct our lives. We either allow ourselves to be shackled by the physical constraints of this life or we set our gaze to the far country and life in Jesus. We acquiesce to the thin fading image of this world, or we embrace the forever wonder and clarity of life in God. Yes, we live in the mix of both worlds all our days, yet which view reigns supreme and sovereign in our thought and life?
The struggling disciples out there on the raging sea, what did they decide?
[32] And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”[7]
When Peter and Jesus got into the boat the wind ceased. Then we are told, And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
It is a curious thing to be surprised by God.
When confronted by the miraculous, we respond in one of two ways. Either we are cynical, attributing it all to chance or what have you, or we acknowledge we are in the presence of something much greater than ourselves, perhaps even a someone beyond this world.
Some shrug off such things as coincidence and nothing of any real significance. Others realize these moments as something very special and they worship. The eye constrained by the purely physical is unable to perceive the mystery and wonder of these things. The eye attuned to heavenly things see God’s hand at work and their heart is given to praise.
So, the next time the sparks fly, and your schedule is shredded by the events of the day or life hands you some other smash up or disappointment, do not be alarmed but thankful. God is on the move and watching out for you. Maybe he will ask you to walk on water or to simply believe him through a very hard season. Or maybe you will stumble onto a path you did not know existed for you. Whatever the situation, he is there and speaking even now.
We are not captives of this world but experiencing God’s forever world as well. We are living in two worlds at once. And gloriously, God is the author of our days.
[1] Matthew 14:22–33, Mark 6:45–52, John 6:16–21
[2] Matthew 14:22–24 ESV
[3] Matthew 14:25–27 ESV
[4] Matthew 14:28–29 ESV
[5] 2 Corinthians 5:7
[6] Matthew 14:30–31 ESV
[7] Matthew 14:32–33 ESV
I am learning that St. John of the Cross talks about a certain progression we experience in the dark night of the soul where our self is annihilated. We have to give up natural reasoning, possession of creaturely things, and our own desires. What we find on the other side are faith, hope, and love. I feel like this corresponds very much too having our perception changed in the way that you’ve described!