How Do I Do This, Lord? Learning to Walk Without Answers
No one can deny that Peter walking on water was a miracle. “‘Lord, if it is you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said.” (Matthew 14:28–29)
In the middle of a violent storm, there was no time for long conversations—only a word and a step. Peter walked on the waves while the wind raged around him, the boat dangerously rocked beneath the disciples, and the only One not terrified was Jesus.
I often wish Peter had asked one more question: How?
I believe Jesus will bring me through every storm, in His way and His time. My struggle is not if He will, but how I can keep stepping on unstable water until we reach the next shore—whatever that may be.
It sounds simple to say, “Don’t look at the wind,” but how, when everything is spinning?
“Fix your eyes on a stationary point,” they say—but what if nothing in your life feels steady?
“Just pray intentionally,” we’re told—but what if your soul is too troubled to grab words?
Peter didn’t manage any of that. He just began to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30). And Jesus reached out and caught him.
Maybe that’s the point.
If Peter had been given a detailed “how-to” guide, we might rely on the method instead of the Master. Our faith could rest in a formula instead of a Person. Storms, instead of driving us to Jesus, might only drive us to principles. But God uses storms like spiritual surgery. They cut deep, not to destroy us, but to heal places we didn’t know were broken.
So I won’t pray, “Lord, bring on the storms.” I will pray, “Lord, I will trust and walk with You, come what may.”
“…He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
God bless you!
Pastor Janice Fareed-Hardy
