"Immediately Jesus Stretched Forth His Hand..."

"Lord Save Me" by Simon Dewey

One of my favorite stories of our Savior is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter fourteen verses twenty-five through thirty-one. Previously in this chapter Jesus has feed the multitude of "...five thousand men, beside women and children" (v.21). After Christ performs this miracle he tells his disciples to get into a ship while he sends the multitude away. Christ then goes up into a mountain to pray and our story begins:


25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

When Peter saw Christ walking on the water, he had the faith to step out and to walk towards Christ. As the story continued he saw the wind and the waves and was afraid. Peter then began to sink, and called upon the Lord for help. The scripture says that "immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand..." (v.31).

In our lives I know that there are times when we all need to step out of the boat, out of our comfort zones, and walk to Christ. At the same time, there are all these distractions that take us away from him. As we see the wind and the waves, the trials and tribulations that we go through in this life, we become afraid. We lose our focus and start to sink. It is at this moment that we are to call on the Lord for help. I know that the Atonement has been given as a gift to all. I know that it helps us overcome our sins, weaknesses and shortcomings. As we call to Christ he will immediately stretch forth his hand and help save us.

Read a Previous Blog About the Atonement