Peter was a normal fisherman, but the Lord saw something special in him. He saw who Peter could be, so He asked Peter to follow Him. As an apostle, Peter witnessed many of the Savior's miracles. He had a testimony of the divinity of the Christ. With his own eyes in Matthew 14, Peter saw the Savior bless five loaves and two fishes into enough to feed five thousand. (That's the thing about the Lord, He takes what little you can give and makes it so much more.)
Later that night, chapter 14 verse 24 reads, "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. And when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
That's the thought that struck me. A normal man, called of God, had the faith to step out of the boat, because he knew who Jesus was. I think sometimes we give Peter a hard time for doubting, but he still walked on water. And I know that sometimes we are afraid. Sometimes fear for a moment pushes faith aside. We see the big waves, hear the howling wind, and question the miracles that helped us move forward. But when that happens, if we like Peter will call to the Savior and ask for help, He will catch us. And we will be reminded why we chose to have faith in the first place.
In a Conference talk called "He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home," President Uchtdorf taught, "Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you.
He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears.
It matters not how you became lost—whether because of your own poor choices or because of circumstances beyond your control.
What matters is that you are His child. And He loves you. He loves His children.My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends, I testify that God sees us as we truly are—and He sees us worthy of rescue.
You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you.
He will rescue you.
He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders.
He will carry you home."
I know that when I doubt, when I fear, the Savior will catch me. I know that He will catch you. He will strengthen us and help us to have the faith to continue "walking on the water"-pressing forward through the unknown, the seemingly impossible, because we know He is there. He is always with us to strengthen us. May we take the step forward into the unknown, remembering the power of God will be with us every step of the way.
{CTR Always, ETTE}
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