Mat 14:28-32 (NIV) “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.” The development of trust in Jesus is gradual. You will have to ASK Jesus to allow you to do things that you are a little bit afraid of. If you aren’t willing to ASK for things you know you should be able to do but are still not doing, then you won’t grow in your trust in Him. Peter started right there and gained experiences the other disciples didn’t gain.

Mat 14:29 (NIV) “Come,” He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. After you have ASKED for something that is stretching your faith and trust, when Jesus says yes, He will give you His power to do what you couldn’t do before. When Jesus told the man with the shriveled hand to stretch it out in Mark 3:1-5, power had to change the hand before the man could obey. Then the man could do what he couldn’t do before. That will be how it works with you.

Mat 14:30 (NIV) But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” As Jesus builds your trust in Him, He will allow things to challenge your trust. Jesus didn’t calm the sea so Peter wouldn’t doubt. He let the wind keep blowing and the waves keep moving. Why? Jesus wanted Peter and He wants you to have COMPLETE trust in Him. If you don’t, the time will come when you will need complete trust and you won’t have it.

Mat 14:31 (NIV) Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?” You WILL fail; and, you WILL get more training. No one starts out with perfect trust in Jesus. But, you will not grow in your trust, if you don’t face issues that challenge it. No one wants their trust and faith to be challenged; but, all people who grow will be properly challenged with just the right amount of pressure that they need.

You will receive more training when you fail. The special thing about Jesus and His training is, He tries to create in you a desire to know. When you hear the words: “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”, all kinds of reactions can come out of you. You can go into guilt; you can feel frustration toward yourself or Jesus; you can spend a lot of time trying to figure out why you doubted; or, you can ASK Jesus to help you find out why you doubted. If you ASK Jesus why you failed, you have allowed a desire-to-learn to enter your heart and mind. That is what Jesus is looking for.

Mat 14:32 (NIV) And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Well now, isn’t that great? Peter would have liked it better if Jesus had calmed the storm during his first attempt at walking on water. He probably wouldn’t have failed if Jesus had given him a beautiful, calm day. When it seems like God is allowing EVERYTHING to come against you, you need to pray and ask Him to empower you to allow your trust grow in Him. You have the right to ASK Him to calm your storms; but, if He says “NO,” by not giving you what you ASKED for, then ASK Him to help you with your trust attitudes.

Here is how temptation works: 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

• No temptation has seized you: Whether it is a temptation to doubt the power of Jesus like Peter experienced when he was trying to walk on water, or, it is a temptation to sin, your trust will be tested by some kind of temptation. If you take advantage of the training, growth, relationship, and power you ALREADY have with Jesus, you will win.


• No temptation has seized you except what is common to man: You must TRUST that the temptation you are facing isn’t strange, unique, or unheard of. Like the temptation Peter got that trained his trust, yours may be different from anyone elses; but, it is the same kind of issue. Your trust test is what is common to man.


• God is faithful: This is what your trust training is all about! Jesus is trying to teach you that God is faithful! As you put your faith in God, it gradually builds trust. Jesus authored or started a faith in you when you heard the good news message. Rom 10:17 (NIV) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. At that moment, Jesus spoke faith into you. That got you started growing in your relationship with God. As that relationship grows, TRUST is built and solidified.


• He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear: These trust tests will often take you to the limit; but, they WILL NOT cross the line. God WILL NOT let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. The stretching, expanding, and broadening that takes place in your faith and trust will produce incredible growth. Your relationship with God will be established in great trust.


• But WHEN you are tempted: Whether it is a temptation that challenges your faith, challenges your relationship with God, or is from your body, the world, or the devil, you WILL be faced with temptations. That is why Jesus is spending all this time training you on how to resist. Your trust relationship with God will build the necessary foundation with God so you will NEVER doubt His faithfulness.


• When you are tempted, He will also provide A WAY OUT: As you grow in your trust in God’s faithfulness, you will automatically start looking for the way out. You will know He always does; so, your trust relationship will help you take the right actions.


• He will also provide A WAY OUT so that you can stand up under it: Trials, crises, struggles, hardships, and temptations can cause you to feel picked on. Satan will try to get you to start wondering why God is allowing these things to happen to you. Here is God’s desire as He trains, gives you important life-classes, gives you vital experiences and skills, and as He turns you into a mature, skilled, talented, experienced, child of God: He is doing it so that you can stand up under it. God WANTS you to start living the victorious Christian life!