As Peter looked around him, he saw the wind, he saw the waves. He had been walking on water but now his mind was filled with the horror of drowning. And just then his faith yelled at him: “Wake up, Peter! You’re looking at the wrong thing. Look back at Jesus.” And faith erupted from his mouth and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Might you and I not cry out the same thing? As we fall into doubt, we see what we give up, we see where it all leads us, and we remember that we really do need a Savior. So we cry out, “Lord, save me!” Lord, save me from doubt. Lord, save me from sin. And Jesus reaches out his hand and takes hold of you and gently says to you, “Why did you doubt? I was here all along.”

Sometimes we forget that Jesus really is right here. He dwells inside of your heart. He is there to remind you of how dear you are to him. He does not kick you for being so foolish. He doesn’t twist your ear and drag you back to church. He has the quiet, gentle voice of love that calls you back to the cross where he died for all that doubt, where he paid for all that sin. And he tells you it’s going to be just fine. And the storms of doubt go away. And the wind of adversity calms down. And there is peace in your heart and there is faith under your feet and you are safe.

Adversity helps us rediscover this. I just went through some CPR training a few weeks ago. If I don’t practice that skill, I’ll never be able to use it if I ever need to. If God doesn’t allow some challenges into your life, you’ll never venture out of the boat in faith. You’ll never walk on the water out into the storms of this world. You’ll never practice your faith. Faith will just be this idea in your life. So God lets you have adversity, so that you can learn perseverance.