Historical Posts
Peter’s Doubt – audio
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Text: Matthew 14:25-31
Peter is often criticized for his lack of faith.
Earlier, he did struggle to believe in the Lord. He saw Jesus walking on the water and asked to come to Him. Jesus told him to come, and he began to walk on water. However, he became afraid of the wind and began to sink. Jesus then caught him and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt (Matthew 14:25-31)?” Doubt can easily creep into our minds and cause us to second guess ourselves.
As our faith grows, doubts should fade and fade away.
Peter needs credit because later his doubt did fade away. After Jesus’ ascension, Peter had a vision of unclean animals let down from heaven. Naturally, they were unclean and Peter knew he was not supposed to eat them. A voice from heaven said, “What God has cleansed you must not call common (Acts 10:15).” As he wondered what this vision meant, the Spirit told him to go with men to the house of Cornelius “without doubting.” We are told Peter got up and went with them, which led to Cornelius’ salvation (Acts 10:17-23).
Just as Peter learned not to doubt God, so should we.
Living the Christian life is not always easy. We often struggle with trials and temptations that test our faith. When we need God’s help through these times, we should not doubt at all that He can help us.
James encourages Christians to “ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6).”
We can rise in the hope that God will help us, or sink in despair, struggling for our spiritual lives.