COME

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 
Matthew 14:28 ESV

I was in a prayer meeting and the passage for the devotion was Matthew 14:22-29. As we went through the prayer points, the final point asked if God was calling us out of the boat, that He would help us come. As I reflected on that question, verse 28 stood out to me. Peter answers Jesus when He tells the disciples to not be afraid with “command me to come to you on the water.” I had to read it a couple times. Jesus wasn't calling the disciples out of the boat. In fact, He was heading to the shore without planning to get in their boat. Mark 6:48-49 tells us that He meant to pass by them, but they saw Him and were terrified. But in the moment of his fear, Peter asks Jesus to command him to come to him on the water. 

Throughout the scriptures, we see Peter making some bold moves: cutting off the ear of the servant, proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, asking Jesus to wash his head and hands, etc. If I was to rank them, this one would be second behind his proclamation that Jesus is the Christ. Think about it. Who asks Jesus to command them to come walk on water??? He went from terrified to emboldened just like that. I'm not sure if he asked just to make sure Jesus was Jesus or if he wanted to confirm that he was seeing a ghost. Maybe it was both. Whatever the reason, Peter asks for the impossible and receives it. 

I like to think I'm bold, but admittedly, I've gotten more reserved as I've gotten older. Thinking about this concept makes me super uncomfortable. Is there something I need to ask Jesus to command me to do? How about you?