Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭22-33‬ NIV)

In Matthew’s account of this event, to whom do you most relate? Are you the disciples who are afraid because they saw a ghost? Are you Peter and excited about getting out on the water with Jesus? Do you relate to Peter when he sank, because he got caught up in the wind and the waves? Or, do you relate to Jesus and feel as though you are on top of things?

Let’s take a practical approach to surveying the situations in our life and how we handle our fear, pride, and shame, so that we can align our minds to the mind of Christ. Let’s take the Romans 12:2 approach! “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

The Romans 12:2 approach is to look out, look in and look up.

Look Out – We are to no longer conform to the pattern of this world. We should survey how the world would handle fear, pride and shame, and stay away! Remember, we have the same natural tendencies as everyone else. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Look In – Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In order for our minds to be renewed, we need to know what we think now. Step back from whatever it is you are facing and ask, “What am I thinking?” In addition, when we are searching a passage of scripture, ask how is the main character responding in the situation and would I respond that way, too. Once you have evaluated the way you are thinking, you must move towards Jesus and how He thinks.

Look Up – You will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. Once we have surveyed how the world thinks and how we think, we must ask the most important question, “What does Jesus say, do, and think?!” We must look to Jesus for answers, and take every thought captive in His name. Remembering that He is the truth!

Often times we ridicule Peter for letting the wind and waves get the best of Him. But, we forget that he took a step to face his fears, and it was actually a step in the right direction. It was a step towards Jesus!

Challenge: Evaluate Matthew 14:22-33 using the Romans 12:2 approach. Look out, look in, and look up regarding how fear is handled in this specific Biblical narrative. Tomorrow, we will break it down together…