Keep Your Eyes on Jesus Matthew 14:22-33

“Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:31

Life has a way of throwing us into deep water when we least expect it. Some storms roar with grief and loss. Others are quieter but just as heavy: uncertainty about the future, a family member you can’t fix, or the relentless weight of responsibility.

Peter knew that kind of tension. For one breathtaking moment, he walked on water. Imagine the wind whipping at his face, the spray of the sea on his skin, and his heart pounding as he realized he was doing the impossible. Then his eyes flickered to the storm. The wind grew louder than his faith. The waves looked taller than his trust. And down he went.

But Jesus didn’t let him drown. He reached for him immediately. His words, “You of little faith,” weren’t condemnation but a gentle reminder: You were safe as long as your eyes were on Me.

The wind was still raging when Peter stepped out of the boat. The waves were still high when Jesus stretched out His hand. The storm didn’t stop until they climbed back into the boat together.

This is the truth many of us would rather avoid: Jesus does not always remove the storm immediately. Sometimes the wind keeps howling, the diagnosis doesn’t change, the grief still aches, or the uncertainty lingers. But the storm is never empty, because Jesus steps into it with us.

There’s a reason this moment is in Scripture. Matthew could have just written, “Jesus calmed the storm.” But he shows us something deeper: the miracle is not only that the wind obeys Him, but that we are never left alone to drown.

I remember visiting a member of our church years ago who was going through a battle with cancer. She told me about her first night after the diagnosis. She said, “Pastor, I could hear the storm in my mind—questions, fears, all the what-ifs. I didn’t sleep a wink. But the next night, I prayed, ‘Jesus, if You don’t take the storm away, just sit with me in it.’ And that night, I slept like a baby.”

The storm didn’t vanish overnight. But she had shifted her focus from the waves to the One who walks on water. That made all the difference.
Theologian Søren Kierkegaard once wrote, “Faith sees best in the dark.” Faith doesn’t mean the storm disappears. It means we trust that the hand of Christ will always find us before we go under.

So, when the winds rise in your own life, keep your eyes on the One who is not shaken by the storm. And if your focus slips, if fear or grief starts to pull you down, remember that Jesus is already reaching for you.

Reflection Questions:
1. Where do you see the wind and waves in your own life right now?
2. What would it look like for you to keep your eyes on Jesus this week?

Prayer: Lord, I confess that I get distracted by the wind and waves. I see the bills, the diagnosis, the broken relationship, and I start to sink. Reach for me again. Take my hand and pull me close. Teach me to walk by faith and not by fear. Calm my heart, even if the storm keeps raging. My eyes are on You. Amen.

Written by Rev. Kay Dubuisson