If You Want to Walk on Water
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | August 9, 2026
Click here to listen to the service
Read Matthew 14:22 – 33 (NIV)
Now on the assumption that this is not the first time you have heard this story, perhaps hearing about Jesus walking on water does not sound all that miraculous… after all, He is the Son of God.
But perhaps you would agree that the fact that one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, was also able to walk on water does seem to be pretty miraculous.
Before we dig further into the text for today… has anybody ever heard the story about the priest, the minister, and the rabbi who went out fishing in a boat:
Now, all jokes aside… I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I do not believe Peter was stepping on any rocks in our text for the morning.At one point the priest said, "I'm thirsty," and stepped out of the boat. He then walked on water and went over and took a drink from a cooler on the beach. A short while later, the minister said, "I'm thirsty," and stepped out of the boat. He then walked on water and also went and took a drink from the cooler on the beach. A little later on in the day, the rabbi said, "I'm thirsty". But as soon as he stepped out of the boat, he drowned. The minister then looked over at the priest and said, "Think we shoulda told him where the rocks were?"
The reality is that rather than stepping on rocks… Peter was stepping out on faith… trusting that Jesus could make the seemingly impossible… possible.
As we look at our text for the morning… we find Jesus sending His disciples out in a boat that ended up on the other side of the lake… being battered and tossed about by the winds and the waves.
The text informs us that early in the morning… Jesus, who had originally stayed behind to dismiss the crowds… came walking on the water toward the disciples.
But for some odd reason… rather than realizing that it was Jesus who was coming toward them… the text says the disciples were terrified… and that they cried out in fear because they thought it was a ghost coming toward them.
Despite having been with Jesus and having seen Him perform miracles right in front of their eyes… including having just witnessed Him feed more than 5,000 folks with just two fish and five loaves of bread… the disciples did not recognize Jesus… and they did not seem to take into consideration the possibility that Jesus would have been capable of doing something miraculous like walking on water.
So, in the midst of the storm… instead of the disciples looking at Jesus and seeing the source of their salvation… they cried out in fear of what they assumed would be the source of their destruction.
In other words, the disciples focused on what they perceived to be a problem and got it confused with what was ultimately the solution.
Let me say that again… the disciples were so focused on looking at was going wrong that they couldn’t see the blessing that was right there in front of them.
Can anyone relate to the disciples? Have you ever been confronted with a problematic situation that felt like it would be the end of the world… but in reality, it opened the door to a blessing you could never have imagined?
Let me give you an example… back in 2006, as I was getting ready to graduate from Seminary, I got called into my boss’s office. I was told that my position was being eliminated and I was only being offered 8-weeks’ severance. Devastation…
To add insult to injury, I was told that I could take a different position and go work in the finance department… but that would mean working for someone who had no respect for me… and doing a job I had no interest in doing. Frustration…
However, in lieu of the financial hardship that would have come with leaving the bank altogether… I decided to take the position as a financial analyst… and for 18-months, I found myself doing accounting work that at the end of the day left me feeling drained and unfulfilled. Aggravation…
But thanks be to God… the devastation, frustration, and aggravation actually led to a place of celebration when I was offered an adjunct faculty position with Indiana Wesleyan University… teaching… you guessed it… accounting.
And now, twenty years later… I can only look back in wonder at how God turned that whole situation around… although I left my career in banking back in 2007, I am still teaching for Indiana Wesleyan University… and here is the best part… I no longer teach straight accounting… for the past several years, I have been teaching Personal Finance from a Biblical Perspective… talk about the best of both worlds!
But let’s turn our attention back to the disciples… they could not see the blessing that was right there in front of them… because their eyes and their thoughts were fixed on the storm that surrounded them.
And Peter was right there with them… same boat… same stormy weather… but it would seem that his eyes of enlightenment were much more open.
Because Peter in essence looked at the situation and said, “If that really is you Lord, tell me to come to you on the water.” And that is exactly what Jesus did.
And miracle of miracles… Peter jumped down out of the boat and started walking on the water… just like Jesus!
Peter was able to do what seemed to be impossible… that is, until he took his eyes off Jesus and started looking at the circumstances around him instead… and when he turned his attention to the winds that were whipping around him and stopped looking at Jesus… that is when he started to sink.
And that is when he uttered a truly prolific prayer, “O, Jesus, thou art the Son of the Most High God. You were conceived by the Holy Spirit and were born of a virgin in the most unusual of circumstances, the likes of which have never been seen since. Throughout all of history, your story has been told to hundreds, upon thousands, upon millions of people who have found salvation in no one beside You. O Master of all that you have called into being, please be so kind and gracious as to have pity on me your lowly servant and rescue me from this most dire of circumstances in which I have unfortunately found myself.”
Well… perhaps that is what we might have expected one of Jesus’ foremost disciples to say in prayer and supplication before the Lord in such a time as this.
Given his status of being part of Jesus’ inner circle and his habit of speaking first and thinking later… it probably wouldn’t surprise us if Peter was to pray one of those long and extravagant prayers like the synagogue leaders were accused of praying back in Matthew 6.
But hold on… if we look at the text… the prayer Peter actually prayed was profoundly simple, “Lord, save me.” Three one-syllable words – Lord… save… me.
Profoundly simple yes… but powerful beyond measure… because as a result of that three-word prayer… the text tells us that, “Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out his hand and caught him.”
Jesus didn’t have to tell Peter to wait a minute until He could get to him.
He didn’t tell Peter that he first needed to repent of all his sins, say three “Hail Marys,” and put a generous donation in the offering plate before he could be saved.
No, there were no conditions that had to be met for Peter to qualify to be rescued by Jesus… and there was no hesitation in the rescue… as the text tells us… Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out His hand to Peter and saved him.
Then, and only then, after the threat of danger had been removed … that is the point when Jesus chastised Peter for having so little faith.
If we use our imaginations, maybe we can see Jesus shaking His head saying, “What happened Peter? For a minute it looked like you had it going on… you had absolute trust in me… you had completely stepped out in faith… trusting that you could do all things through me. So why did you start doubting? Why did you take your eyes off me and go into panic mode… just because you saw a little wind blowing around?”
Now, before we start coming down too hard on Peter… maybe we should take a quick peak in the mirror.
How often have we taken our eyes off Jehovah Raphe, our God, our Healer, because the doctors started talking about some new diagnosis?
How often have we shifted our gaze from Jehovah Jireh, our God, our Provider, just because the bank balance was starting to look a little low and we weren’t exactly sure where the next deposit was going to come from?
And how often have we turned our attention away from Jehovah Shalom, our God, our Peace, simply because there have been some differences of opinion among our family members, friends or colleagues… or worse yet, between political parties and national leaders… not to mention foreign governments?
The truth is that we can all probably think of times when we have gotten overwhelmed by looking at how big the storms in our lives have become rather than focusing on just how big God is.
But the good news is that we still have hope! We can do the seemingly impossible and walk on water if we are willing to take our eyes off of the storm and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
But what does it really mean for us to walk on water?
In his book, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat,” author, John Ortberg, suggests that walking on water means three things:
He highlights several characteristics that distinguish someone as a water-walker. I want to share just a few of them for us to consider today…One – it means facing our fears and choosing not to let fear have the last word.
Two – it means discovering and embracing the unique calling of God on our lives.
And three – it means experiencing the power of God in our lives to do some things we would not be able to do on our own. (Ortberg, 2001, Zondervan)
- Water-walkers recognize God’s presence.
Throughout the Bible we find any number of stories of God making His presence known to get someone’s attention. Like Moses seeing a burning bush that was not consumed… or Elijah looking for God in the wind, earthquake and fire but finding him in the silence… or Peter walking on water… God made His presence known to encourage the folks He was calling to do extraordinary things.
And here is the takeaway for us today… God made his presence known to Moses, Elijah, Peter and countless others in the scriptures… not when they were standing strong and fearless in the face of conflict or danger… and not when they had everything perfectly in order.
On the contrary, God made his presence known to each of them in spite of their fears, flaws and failures. And He promises to do the same for us.
- Water-walkers discern between faith and foolishness.
Before he got out of the boat, Peter wanted to make sure it was Jesus out there on the water. And before we step out in faith, we need to be sure we are following the call of God and not just some foolish scheme.
But how can we find out if we are walking in alignment with God’s will? By reading His word, by praying, and in some instances, even by fasting.
Trust and believe that God will never call us to get out of the boat to do something that does not line up with His will and His word – which brings us to the next characteristic of a water-walker.
- Water-walkers get out of the boat.
Our boats represent our comfort zones, the places and circumstances where we feel most at ease and have the greatest sense of safety and security – apart from God that is.
Our boat is whatever it is we don’t want to give up even if it gets in the way of us joining Jesus on the water. You know, the habits and guilty pleasures that have a way of distracting us and keeping us from following Jesus…
And while there is a high likelihood that we will sink and fail if we simply refuse to get out of the boat… statistically speaking, there is a 100% certainty that we will never walk on water if we never get out of the boat.
- Water-walkers expect problems.
Even when we try to play it safe and stay in the boat, there is no guarantee that we won’t encounter problems. The fact is, wherever we are… trouble will have very little trouble finding us.
Ortberg quotes another author, Eileen Guder, who said:
While that may sound a little harsh… the reality is that life lived in a bubble is really no life at all. God is calling us to live life to the full.You can live on bland food so as to avoid an ulcer; drink no tea or coffee or other stimulants, in the name of health; go to bed early and stay away from night life; avoid all controversial subjects so as never to give offense; mind your own business and avoid involvement in other people’s problems; spend money only on necessities and save all you can. You can still break your neck in the bathtub, and it will serve you right.
But not only do water-walkers recognize God’s presence and discern between faith and foolishness; water-walkers get out of the boat and expect problems – and last, but certainly not least…
- Water-walkers learn to wait on the Lord.
In Isaiah 40, we read:
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
And Psalm 27:14 tells us to “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Sometimes in our excitement to step out in faith, we try to get out ahead of the Lord.But to achieve the best results, we need to wait on the Lord before we act. And that is when we will realize that some of the greatest lessons that God desires for us to learn can only come in our seasons of “waiting.”
Some of you have probably heard me tell the story about the time in my life when I was really anxious to get married… but I was not focused on waiting on the Lord to bring me my husband.I would set my sights on who I “thought” it was supposed be… only to get my heart broken when I found out that “Mr. Right” was actually “Mr. Oh-so-wrong.”
Eventually, I got to the point when I realized that God had been telling me to wait on Him.And let me just say, I am glad I finally learned that lesson!
Now there is one last point that I want to highlight from today’s text.
Throughout this passage of scripture… when the disciples were watching Jesus walk on the water… when Peter asked Jesus to call Him out of the boat and he actually began to walk on water… even at the point when Jesus rescued Peter as he began to sink… throughout all of this happening… the winds and the waves were still blowing around them.
The mighty and miraculous deeds of Jesus did not happen separate and apart from the storm. On the contrary… Jesus did the mighty and the miraculous right in the middle of the storm.
Keep in mind what we read in the text… the winds did not cease raging until everything was all said and done and Peter and Jesus were back in the boat.
The fact of the matter is that God can and will do the mighty and miraculous in our lives… regardless of the storms we may be going through at any given moment.
It isn’t about us getting our act together and getting our houses in order before God will be able to bless us.
It’s all about us recognizing God when He comes walking toward us in the midst of the storm.
It’s about asking the Lord to draw us closer to Him… even as we step out in faith… getting out of the boat and moving into the storm… trusting that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus… the winds and the waves that are blowing all around us cannot keep us from receiving the blessings God has in store for us.
So, when the storms of life start raging… instead of worrying and telling God how big the storm is… we can step out of the boat in faith and tell that storm just how big our God is… trusting and believing that if we want to walk on water… we have the blessed assurance that God will be with us every step of the way.
And with that thought in mind, I want to invite us to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship Blessed Assurance #543. Back
