A Scottish band, Skippinish, from the Outer Hebrides sings a song whose lyrics are as follows…
I’ve been walking…
walking these shores all my days,
but with you by my side
I am walking on the waves.
While I can’t find specific references to where exactly Peter generally fished, I am guessing that Peter, well, he had been walking those shores and working those waters or the waters in that area of the world all the days of his life.
The Lord, well, He invites Peter to join Him on the other side of them wild waves. Impulsive, affectionate Peter is suddenly walking on the waves! But because he’s been traveling and fishing them waters, he knows walking on ‘em aint overly smart. He knows its impossible…
He knows these waters… Not just that a human shouldn’t be walking on the water, but those waters… where they break, where they swell, the eddies, the sand bars, the shallows, the tides, where the fish rest, where they eat, where a boat could get hung up in weeds…
And in the middle of a storm! Just you never mind! Peter knows how a storm can instantly alter wind and water, how it can disorientate and confuse a man, how it can yank and toss and throw and upheave.
If he had been somewhere he had not been before, a foreign but serene lake in New Hampshire perhaps, he might not have doubted his ability to do the impossible, or the Lord’s ability to help him do the inconceivable… but he knew them waters and them storms! Peter knew that the gulf between the task and his ability, with worldly dangers thrown in for good measure, was just too big.
Was Peter lacking in faith in the Lord’s ability to save him? Was he lacking faith that the gulf between what was and what could be was too great to overcome? Or was he lacking faith that he understood the situation correctly— that somehow he was actually chosen by the Lord to be a part of such a miracle?
How often could we partner with the Lord to perform a miracle, except we know them waters and the dangers of the storms just too darn well?
Reflection Questions
What do you know so well that your knowledge and preconceived notions could be interrupting a miracle?
After listening to the song I mentioned above, jot down some of your thoughts and feelings. Does it give you new insight about this passage? Does any aspect of it remind you of your relationship with the Lord. (YouTube: Skippinnish//Walking On the Waves)
Writing to Pray 