"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.;
But 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 (Matt. 14:27-31).

This brief passage presents to our view in a very forcible way some of the leading features of
Simon Peter’s character. His zeal, his energy, his real devotedness of heart, no one can call into
question; but these qualities_beautiful as they surely are_led him not infrequently into a position
of such prominence as to render his weak points all the more conspicuous. A man of less zeal and
energy would have remained on board the ship and thus avoided Peter’s failure and breakdown.
Men of cooler temperament might condemn as unwarrantable rashness Peter’s act in leaving the
ship, or pronounce it a piece of forwardness which justly deserved a humiliating rebuff.

Perhaps some of our readers feel disposed to condemn Peter for leaving the ship. They may say
there was no need for taking such a step. Why not abide with his brethren on board the vessel?
Was it not possible to be quite as devoted to Christ in the ship as on the water? Did not the sequel
prove that it would have been far better for Peter to remain where he was, than to venture forth
on a course which he was not able to pursue?

To all this we reply that the apostle was evidently governed by an earnest desire to be nearer to
his Lord. And this was right. He saw Jesus walking on the water and he longed to be with Him.
And, further, he had the direct authority of his Lord for leaving the ship. We fully and freely
grant that without this it would have been a fatal mistake to leave his position; but the moment that
word "come" fell on his ear he had a divine warrant for going forth upon the water. To have
remained would have been to miss great blessing.

Thus it is in every case. We must have authority before we can act in anything. Without this, the
greater our zeal, energy, and apparent devotedness, the more fatal will be our mistake, and the
more mischief we shall do to ourselves, to others, and to the cause of Christ. It is of the greatest
importance in every case, but especially where there is a measure of zeal and energy, that there
should be sober to the authority of the Word. If there be not is no calculating the amount of
mischief which may be done.

But there is another thing which stands next in importance to the authority of the divine Word, and
that is the abiding realization of the divine presence. These two things must never be separated if
we want to walk on the water. We may be sure in our own minds that we have distinct authority
for a given line of action; but if we have not with equal distinctness the sense of the Lord’s
presence with us_if our eyes are not continually on the living God_we shall most assuredly break
down.

It was precisely here that Peter failed. He did not fail in obedience but in realized dependence. He

acted on the word of Jesus in leaving the ship; but he failed to lean on the arm of Jesus in walking
on the water, hence his terror and confusion. Mere authority is not enough; we want power. To
act without authority is wrong. To act without power is impossible. The authority for starting is
the Word. The power to proceed is the divine presence. The combination of the two must ever
yield a successful career. It matters not at all what the difficulties are if we have the stable
authority of Holy Scripture for our course, and the blessed support of the presence of God in
pursuing it. When God speaks, we must obey; but in order to do so we must lean on His arm.

Here are the two things so absolutely essential to every child of God. Without these we can do
nothing; with them we can do all things. If we have not a "Thus saith the Lord" or "It is written,"
we cannot enter upon a path of devotedness; and if we have not His realized presence, we cannot
pursue it. It is quite possible to be right in setting out, and yet to fail in going on.

It was so in the case of Simon Peter, and it has been so in the case of thousands since. It is one
thing to make a good start and another thing to make good progress. It is one thing to leave the
ship and another thing to walk on the water. But, if Peter failed to reach his Lord, his Lord did
not fail to reach him. The grace of our Lord Jesus is exceedingly abundant. He takes occasion
from our very failures to display His rich and precious love. Oh, how blessed to have to do with
such a tender, patient, loving Lord! Who would not trust Him and praise Him, love Him and serve
Him?

(From "Simon Peter:His Life and Its Lessons" in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 4.)