And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. – Matthew 14: 28-29

The Lord’s disciples were in a boat on the Galilean sea when they saw what appeared to be a person walking towards them on the water. Of course, they questioned whether it was Jesus because they had just left Him on the land. Then, they doubted whether it could even be a real person (as opposed to a ghost) because this figure was walking towards them literally on the water.

Jesus sensed their fears and shouted across the waves to identify Himself as the person they saw. Still, half frightened and half fascinated, Peter (always the first to speak) cried out: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus gave him a one word reply: “Come!” Immediately after this we read: “And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”

Those of us familiar with this incident know what happened to Peter next. He doubted, began to sink and would have drowned if the Lord had not saved him from the sea. Let’s save the discussion about that for some other time. Can we now just focus on the fact that Peter decided to step out of the boat and, at least for a moment, he walked on water? Here are some of the reasons why he was able to do this:

1). He heard the voice of Jesus. At first, he thought the figure walking to him was a ghost. But, when he heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized that voice and was comforted. It pays to know the voice of the Lord, especially in the middle of a crisis when all your other senses seem to be lying to you.

2). He responded to the command of Jesus. Peter had the nerve to ask Jesus to command him to come onto the water. Jesus had the confidence to bid him: “Come!” Peter did not step out of the boat recklessly. He only stepped out at the command of Christ. Peter did not step out of the boat because of arrogance. He did it out of obedience. Walking on water may seem like fun, but you dare not try it unless you are following the direct command of Christ.

3). He kept his eyes on Jesus. The key to Peter’s gravity defying feat was not him watching where he walked. On the contrary, it was watching the One to whom he was walking. This is proved by the fact that as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord, he was able to walk on the water. The moment he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink. Looking to Christ and depending upon Christ is the one thing that keeps our heads above water.

4). He believed he could do the impossible like Jesus. Peter stepped out of that boat because he believed that, as a disciple of Jesus, he too could do what Jesus did. Indeed, Jesus told His disciples that they would do even greater things than He had done. As followers of Christ, we must not and need not fear leaving our comfort zone in response to the Lord’s command. This is what He is calling us to do. And, by the way, if we fall along the way and cry out to him, He will catch us and bring us to safety.