Most Bible students are familiar with the night Peter walked on the Sea of Galilee. Matthew records the account in his fourteenth chapter. Jesus had instructed his disciples to enter into a boat and go to the other side. He then proceeded to go up into the nearby mountain and pray.
About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to the ship, himself walking on the water. When the disciples saw him, they feared him to be a ghost. To prove whether or not it was Jesus, Peter called out, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water" [Matthew 14:28].
Jesus told Peter to come; and, when Peter was come down out of the ship, he "walked on the water," to go to Jesus [Matthew 14:29].
I am going to tell you something that seems to have no physical value in this world, but it does have "physical" value. You can walk on water. More to the point, God expects us to walk on the water. Am I telling you to walk off the dock behind your home? No. There is water, and then there is water.
The literal water upon which both Jesus and Peter walked is used to picture for us the "water" over which you and I are to walk, by faith. Water is used as a picture of three things in the Bible. First, the Word of God itself is likened unto water: the Church is cleansed with "the washing of water by the word of God" [Ephesians 5:26].
The promises of God are as a cool drink from his well. If we drink of his water [word], we shall never thirst again [John 4:14]. When we stand on a promise of God`s Word, we are "walking on the water." And his word is a sure foundation. But we can only walk on his promises by faith.
A second analogy of water is the attack of the enemy. Like the wind Peter heard, we "hear" the threats and accusations of others, or the criticism and mockery that comes from a lack of faith in God. And what we "hear" causes us to fear, and often, to fall.
Those "attacks" can come on us like a flood that threatens to sweep us away. However, Isaiah declares that, "when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him" [Is. 59:19]. Have you ever stood on the coast and let the waves come in around your feet? The attack of the enemy will break apart against the standard of the Lord. Beside the Lord`s standard, we can "walk" on and over the attacks of the enemy.
But there is a third analogy used of water: the wrath of God. Remember the account of the flood? God told Noah to build an ark because the wickedness of man had become so great that God was going to bring "a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh" [Gen. 6:17].
God, who is willing that none perish but that all should come to repentance, wants man to overcome the wrath of God. He wanted man to "walk on the water" by being safely in the ark. That ark is a picture of Christ: he is the door by which man can enter in and be saved. In him, our condemnation before God ends.
Are you "walking on the water"? Are you standing on the promises of God? Do you get close to his standard when the enemy comes to take away your peace of mind? Do you rest in God, even in the face of his wrath, by trusting his salvation? You can. You can "walk on water," by faith.