Have Courage - God Reaches Us in the Storm

Aug 11, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Obedience in the Storm: Where Jesus Sends Us

The disciples didn’t choose the storm. Jesus sent them into it. Their exhaustion came not from rebellion but from following his command. The wind wasn’t punishment—it was part of the journey. Even when progress feels impossible, the One who walks on waves is already present. His purpose isn’t derailed by chaos. Trust that the place of struggle might be the place of his calling. [03:02]

"Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds."
(Matthew 14:22, CSB)

Reflection: Where is Jesus sending you into a season of “hard rowing”? How might his command, not your circumstances, redefine your purpose today?

Day 2: When Circumstances Preach Louder Than Promises

The storm kept shouting. Waves pounded the boat like accusations: “You’re alone. Jesus isn’t here.” But the disciples forgot—the same hands that broke bread for 5,000 were already praying for them. Fear lies when it isolates. Jesus’ presence isn’t limited by visible miracles. His “I AM” cuts through every dark hour. [07:09]

"Immediately Jesus spoke to them. 'Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.'"
(Matthew 14:27, CSB)

Reflection: What “storm narrative” have you started believing? How does Jesus’ “It is I” confront that story with a deeper truth?

Day 3: One Word from Jesus Changes Everything

Peter didn’t need calmer waves—he needed Christ’s command. “Come” wasn’t a suggestion but a creative word. For a few steps, water held like solid ground because Jesus said it would. The storm didn’t cease, but Peter’s capacity shifted. One word from Christ still authorizes impossible obedience. [10:23]

"‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter answered him, ‘command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’"
(Matthew 14:28–29, CSB)

Reflection: What has Jesus already said “come” to in your life? Where are you waiting for circumstances to change instead of acting on his word?

Day 4: You Are Not Who the World Says You Are

Baptism drowns every false identity. Grades, job titles, and failures don’t define you—God’s name does. When shame whispers, “You’re a sinking Peter,” baptism shouts, “You’re a held child.” The water isn’t magic; it’s a promise. Jesus’ grip outlasts every wave of doubt. [21:28]

"For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ."
(Galatians 3:27, CSB)

Reflection: What label or failure feels louder than “beloved”? How would today look if you lived clothed in Christ, not your achievements?

Day 5: Rinse and Repeat: Baptismal Life as Repentance and Resurrection

Baptism isn’t a one-time event but a daily rhythm. Each morning, the old self drowns; the new rises. Not self-improvement—resurrection. Return to the font when you fail, not to earn grace but to remember it. Jesus holds you, so you’re free to sink, cry out, and be pulled up again. [24:15]

"Having been buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead."
(Colossians 2:12, CSB)

Reflection: What area of your life needs less “trying harder” and more returning to the promise of your baptism? How might grace loosen your grip today?

Sermon Summary

Matthew 14 meets a big back-to-school week by telling the truth about unknown days, anxious hearts, and choppy water. The text refuses the easy idea that faithful people always get smooth sailing. Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, so the disciples were not in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jesus sent them there, and the wind was still against them.

Matthew places that boat ride right after the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had taken five loaves and two fish, “not nearly enough,” and made it enough. The disciples had handed out the bread, passed around the fish, watched thousands eat, and gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. Then Jesus sent them out onto the water, tired, grieving John the Baptist’s death, and working hard against waves that battered the boat again and again.

Jesus came to them very early in the morning, walking on the sea. The disciples saw him and cried out in fear, thinking he was a ghost. Jesus did not first stop the wind or calm the water. Jesus first gave them his word: “Have courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” The waves were still pounding, but his presence and his promise were enough.

Peter wanted more. Peter said, “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus answered with one word: “Come.” Peter walked on the water not because Peter became powerful, not because the water became solid, but because Jesus spoke. The wind had been there all along, but when Peter paid more attention to the wind than to the word, he began to sink.

Peter’s best words were the desperate ones: “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught hold of him. Salvation was not Peter holding tightly enough to Jesus. Salvation was Jesus refusing to let Peter go. Jesus’ rebuke, “O you of little faith,” was not accusation that pushed Peter away, but invitation that held him close.

Baptism shows that same saving hand. Baptism is not a human promise to God, but God’s promise to the baptized. Paul says baptism joins sinners to Christ’s death and resurrection, so the old sinner is drowned and a new creation rises. God’s name comes before success, before failure, before the world’s labels, and before the devil’s accusations. The baptized can say, “I am baptized. I belong to him, and he is holding on to me.”

Peter’s hope was never that Peter could walk on water. Peter’s hope was that Jesus could walk on water, speak with power, stretch out his hand, go to the cross, walk out of the tomb, and hold his own stronger than the waves beneath them.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience may still face headwinds. Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, so their struggle did not prove they had wandered away from him. The wind against them was not evidence that faith had failed or that Jesus had abandoned them. The Christian life cannot measure God’s nearness by how easy the rowing feels. [02:09]
2. Christ’s word precedes calm waters. Jesus did not first silence the wind, even though he had the power to do it. Jesus first spoke, “Have courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid,” because his presence and promise are not dependent on changed circumstances. Faith learns to hear his voice while the boat is still rocking. [07:09]
3. Weak faith still cries rightly. Peter’s fear was real, and his focus had shifted from Christ’s word to the strength of the wind. Yet Peter still knew where rescue was found, and his prayer became wonderfully simple: “Lord, save me.” Desperation can become faith’s clearest speech when it stops explaining and starts calling on Christ. [13:19]
4. Baptism names before performance. Baptism is God’s promise, not a person’s promise to God. God places his name on sinners before success can define them and before failure can accuse them. The baptized life returns again and again to the water, not to repeat baptism, but to remember that Christ has claimed his own. [17:00]
5. Jesus holds stronger than waves. Peter was no longer standing because he held on well. Peter was kept above the water because Jesus held him. Salvation finally rests not on the strength of faith’s grip, but on the Savior who refuses to let go.

## [15:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:32] - Back-to-School Unknowns
[02:09] - Sent Into the Wind
[03:37] - From Feeding to Fighting Waves
[05:57] - Jesus Walks Toward Fear
[07:09] - Courage Before Calm
[09:10] - Peter Asks to Come
[11:10] - When Circumstances Preach Louder
[13:19] - Lord, Save Me
[14:38] - Jesus Immediately Catches Peter
[17:00] - Baptism as God’s Promise
[19:09] - Answering Accusation With Baptism
[22:34] - Living From the Font
[25:30] - Jesus Never Wavers

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 14:22-33
“Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. ‘It's a ghost!’ they said, and they cried out in fear. Immediately Jesus spoke to them. ‘Have courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it's you,’ Peter answered him, ‘command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” [02:09]

Romans 6:3-5
“Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.” [17:52]

Galatians 3:27
“For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.” [20:58]

Colossians 2:12
“Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” [25:07]

Observation questions

In Matthew 14, what details show that the disciples were in the boat because Jesus sent them there, not because they had wandered away? [02:49]
What does Jesus do first when he comes to the disciples on the water, and what does he not do first? [07:09]
What changes when Peter begins to sink: the wind, Jesus’ word, or Peter’s focus? [11:18]
In the baptism passages, what words and images are used to describe what God does in baptism?

Interpretation questions

If Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and the wind was still against them, what does that suggest about the idea that hardship always means someone is outside of God’s will? [05:38]
Jesus says, “Have courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid,” before the wind stops. Why might Christ give his word before he changes the circumstances? [08:48]
Peter walks on the water because Jesus says, “Come.” What does that show about where faith gets its strength? [09:59]
Jesus immediately catches Peter when Peter cries, “Lord, save me.” How does that shape the way salvation is understood: mainly as a person holding on to Jesus, or as Jesus holding on to a person? [15:25]

Application questions

Where does life currently feel like rowing against the wind—at home, at school, at work, in health, or in some other part of life? How might it help to remember that hard conditions do not automatically mean Christ has left? [02:17]
What “winds” have been preaching louder than Christ’s promises lately? Which fears or messages keep repeating in the mind when life feels uncertain? [12:01]
Peter’s clearest prayer was, “Lord, save me.” When anxiety rises, what usually comes out first—panic, explanations, self-reliance, silence, or a cry for help? What would it look like to pray more simply and more honestly this week? [13:19]
Baptism means God’s name comes before success and before failure. Which labels tend to define a person most strongly right now—achievement, shame, weakness, family pressure, fear, or something else? How does “I am baptized; I belong to Christ” answer those labels? [20:17]
Returning to baptism does not mean repeating it, but remembering God’s promise. What are some concrete ways to remember that promise in daily life when faith feels small? [22:34]
Salvation rests on Christ’s grip, not the strength of faith’s grip. When faith feels weak, what difference does it make to know that Jesus holds on tighter than the waves pull? [20:43]
Jesus speaks into every storm, classroom, hospital room, and anxious heart. Where is there a need this week to hear again, “Have courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid”? [26:04]

Sermon Clips

69s

#JesusNeverWavers

“``Friends, Peter's hope was never that he could walk on water. His hope was that Jesus could walk on water and that Jesus' word was enough. Your hope too and my hope is not that our faith never wavers. Your hope and my hope is that Jesus never wavers. He came walking over all the chaos this world could throw at him. He stretches out his hands and went to the cross and walked out of the tomb to give you a foretaste of what's coming for you. He claimed you in holy baptism. He feeds you at his table with his own body and blood, and he speaks over every storm, every classroom, every hospital room, nursing room, an anxious heart with his words. Have courage. It is I. Don't be afraid because the one who holds you is always stronger than the waves beneath you.”

87s

#HeWontLetGo

“And how does Jesus respond? Does Jesus tell Peter, well, Peter, next time you better trust me a little bit more. Sorry, Peter. Your faith has shown it is insufficient and not strong enough. Next guy up, who's up? He doesn't let Peter even sink for a little while until he's learned a lesson. Now look at the verse word of verse 31. Immediately. Immediately. Jesus reached out his hand and caught hold of him. Jesus doesn't wait for Peter to prove himself. He doesn't wait for Peter to get his faith straightened out. He doesn't let him flail around in the water until he learns his lesson. No. Jesus reaches down and grabs him. And notice something beautiful here. No longer is Peter walking on the water or standing on the water. Now it is Christ Jesus himself who is holding Peter above it. Peter isn't holding to Jesus. Jesus is holding on to Peter. And friends, this is a picture of salvation. Salvation isn't finally how tightly Peter can hold on to Jesus. Salvation is Jesus refusing to let Peter go.”

46s

#DefinedByGod

“Before your success can define you, before your failures can define you, before your friends or anything in this world defines you, God places his name on you and says, this one's mine. This one, yeah, is the one in whom I am well pleased. So that when the winds blow, when the waves rise, your faith feeling small at times. But knowing for sure your salvation does not resist, does not rest, rather, on how tightly you are holding on to Jesus. But rather on how tightly he is holding on to you.”

40s

#IdentityInBaptism

“Your identity doesn't change when everything else in the world around you does. When you get the bad report card, when you lose the job, when the diagnosis comes, when cancer enters the picture, when dementia begins to take away the memories you once held so dear, not even when you fall or your faith is weak and the wind seems stronger than the promises of God. What remains the same is you have been baptized, beloved child of God. You have put on Christ, and you you belong to him.”

49s

#WordOverCircumstance

“And friends, isn't that where we get in trouble too? Our circumstances start preaching louder than God's promises. The diagnosis, the finances, the marriage, the family, the politics, the school year ahead, the news, social media, our circumstances, they shout at us with messages like, you are alone. You can't handle this. There is no way through this. Jesus isn't enough. And meanwhile meanwhile, the word is still there saying, have courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.”

63s

#LordSaveMe

“Peter cries out, Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Those are the best words that Peter speaks in this entire story because he doesn't explain himself. He doesn't bargain with Jesus. He doesn't talk that he promises to do better next time. Just a prayer of a drowning desperate man that says, lord, save me. Not ghosts, save me. Not guys, Matthew, stop writing about this and throw me a rope for God's sake so that I don't drown. Lord, save me. Even in his fear, even when his focus has shifted, even when his trust in Jesus' word has faltered, Peter knows enough to know whose presence he in. He knows who has the power to do something about this desperate situation, which he has no power over. Lord, save me.”

66s

#DoNotBeAfraid

“But Jesus doesn't leave them in their fear. Instead, verse 27, Matthew tells us immediately immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, have courage. It is I. Don't be afraid. Now notice what Jesus does here. He doesn't immediately stop the wind. He doesn't immediately calm the waters. He immediately gives them his word. Have courage. It is I. Do not be afraid. In other words, don't let your fear of the unknown tell you what is true. Don't let your imagination run wild and away from you. Don't assume that because the wind is against you, I am not with you. Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid.”

64s

#HisWordIsEnough

“And when Jesus speaks, his word has the power to do what he says. The same voice who spoke to the wind and the waves, the same voice that called the dead to life, the same voice that multitude a small luncheon fed a crowd of 5,000 plus now speaks to Peter one word, come. And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and he came towards Jesus. Peter had his doubts. He said, Lord, if it's you. But he's heard the voice of Jesus and trust that word Jesus has given to them walking on the water, not because all of a sudden Peter has become more powerful or more buoyant or the water has somehow become solid. No. No. Just because Jesus said, come. The wind is still blowing. The waves are still rolling. The circumstances haven't changed. But Peter has the word of Jesus, and that word is enough.”

41s

#NeededHimNotMoreFaith

“Yes. Jesus is scolding Peter, but he's not scolding him with accusation, but rather scolding him with invitation as he holds him and says to him, you had my word, Peter. You had my promise. You had my presence. The wind didn't change who I am. The waves didn't change what I said to you when I said, come. You, Peter, you didn't need stronger faith. All you needed was me, and you had me.”

85s

#BaptizedAndBelong

“That same Jesus who said to Peter, come, has spoken his word over you when you were baptized in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Jesus commanding his disciples to go and make disciples by doing that and sharing that gift, that promise connected to water in the word. A promise we need especially when the old evil foe begins planting seeds of doubt in our hearts. Doubt where he wants us to look at our failures. Doubt where he wants us to look at the times that we haven't trusted God. Doubt when he wakes you in the middle of the night and he brings to mind your sin and your failures and the weakness of your faith. And now in the midst of those accusations, we don't simply pretend they aren't true. Instead, we can say to all the accusations of the old evil foe, yes. Yes. I am a sinner. Yes. My faith is sometimes weak. Yes. I have failed time and time again. This much is true, but it is not the whole truth because Christ Jesus has saved me. I am baptized. I belong to him, and he is holding on to me.”

64s

#PurposeInTheStorm

“No matter how hard you try, how hard you roll, it feels like you're not getting anywhere. And it's tempted at times in our lives where we're not moving along quickly or not dealing where we wanna go, when we wanna go, in the time that we wanna go, to think that there's that there's something wrong with us. Or perhaps there's something wrong with with our with our faith. That if we just trusted Jesus a little bit more, life would settle down and there would be smooth sailing with the wind at our backs. But our gospel lesson this morning that Lonnie read for us from Matthew 14 shows us something very, very different. Sometimes the place where the wind is against us is exactly the place where Jesus has sent us. And sometimes it is there in the waves and the wind that Jesus teaches us what it means to live with confidence in his presence, his promises, and in his purpose.”

71s

#RememberYourBaptism

“Baptism himself, it only happens once in the name of the father, son, and spirit. We don't need to be baptized more than once because the good thing is, god's promises do not have an expiration date. Throughout the Christian life, we will continually return to our baptism, not to repeat it, but to remember what God trusted and promised us there. That's why Luther, Martin Luther, would teach us to daily make the sign of the cross as we wake up remembering our baptism. Daily remembering the old Adam in us has been drowned in repentance, and a new person arises to live before God in righteousness and purity. So that we would remember to say, not just I was baptized in the past, which is true, but to remember to say even more assuredly, baptized. It's a present reality. It's a present reality that impacts me in my daily life, that God has put his name on me and joined me to Christ and made me his very own.”

61s

#EyesOnTheWord

“In fact, Matthew tells us that Peter is actually getting closer and closer coming towards Jesus. Everything seems to be going well, but then something changes. And it's not Jesus. It's not his word. It's not the circumstances of the wave and the winds. No, it's Peter. Verse 30. But when Peter saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid. The wind had been there all along, Peter. The waves had been there when he jumped out of the boat. The storm was raging while Peter was walking across the water. The circumstances haven't changed. What happens is Peter's focus changes, and he begins to pay more attention to the wind than to the word. And suddenly, when Peter sees around him, that which he sees in the wind and the waves seem to be more certain than the word that Jesus has spoken to him.”

66s

#ObedienceInTheStorm

“And let's remember the day they've already had. They began that morning by hearing from John the Baptist's disciples that John the Baptist had been beheaded in a gruesome party held by King Herod. And they had come to this place to pray and to be by themselves, but then Jesus sees the crowd and he has compassion on them and begins to heal them and teach them and even care for something so small as one meal by breaking those bread and that fish and feeding the multitude. And now here they are on the boat in the midst of this, not getting a nap, they're tired, and now Jesus comes to them. They aren't struggling right now because they disobeyed Jesus. They're struggling because they're doing exactly what Jesus told them to do. And sometimes, friends, obedience to Jesus doesn't mean smooth sailing. Sometimes you can be exactly where Jesus wants you to be and and the wind is still against you.”

77s

#HisVoiceBringsPeace

“The disciples have heard this voice before. They've heard this voice speak and watched the sick be healed. They've heard this voice speak to a little girl who had died, and he told her to get up. And what does she do? She gets up. He's they've heard this voice speak another time on this very same lake where Jesus was asleep in the boat. And this time, they thought they were going to drown. But Jesus wakes up and he says he says, peace be still. And the wind and the waves obey him. courage. It is I. Do not be afraid. The wind is still blowing. The waves are still pounding. The boat is still rocking. But Jesus is there, and his presence and his word have courage. It is I. Don't be afraid is enough for 11 disciples. For 11 disciples, it's enough.”

47s

#BaptismIsGodsPromise

“Now you hear that and you think, well, I think I would have believed too if I had seen what I had seen that day. Not just what Peter just did walking on the water and Jesus rescuing him and delivering him, but the feeding of the 5,000, the healing of the sick, all that had happened, surely, I would believe too. But you don't have to wish you had been there that morning because that same Jesus has reached down and rescued And we we saw that yesterday on Saturday here personally for three young ladies and visibly in the waters of holy baptism Because baptism isn't your promise to God. Baptism is God's promise to you.”

47s

#BewareTheSlowDrift

“So there's a danger that comes when we see what we see around us begins to seem more powerful than the word and the promise of the one who defeated the grave. For us, that can look like maybe a casual kind of drift. Our eyes gradually turning away from Christ, our ears becoming less attentive to his word, our confidence shifting from his promises to what we can see and control ourselves, or at least what we thought we could see and control ourselves. A slow drift for many of us. But for Peter, Peter, the result is way more dramatic. He sinks and beginning to sink.”

49s

#TrustHisCommand

“But Peter, Peter wants something more. Verse 28. Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. Jesus said, come. And suddenly, the question now isn't simply, can can Jesus walk on the water? The question comes, can Peter trust the word of Jesus when Jesus has now commanded him to come out on the water? He he doesn't tell Peter, well, Peter, I guess if you wanna give it a go to, if you wanna give it a college try, go ahead, Peter. He commands him. He orders Peter onto the water with the word come.”

30s

#JesusReachesDown

“I I love that image on the screen. It's a picture of a man by the name of Young Seung Kim who painted that, a replica of that is here. And I kinda think that it appropriately belongs right here for us this morning. It's supposed to represent Jesus reaching down to save Peter, but that's the same thing that Peter tells us in his own epistle. Jesus does for us in the waters of baptism. He reaches down and he he claims us as his very own.”

49s

#BatteredButNotDefeated

“Matthew continues in verse 23, tells us, well into the night, Jesus was there alone praying by himself. Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land battered by the waves because the wind was against them. Matthew says the boat was being battered by the waves. The the word there carries kinda some kind of torment being pounded again and again. It's a it's a bad day on the water. But the disciples aren't necessarily in immediate danger. They're they're making some headway. It's just exhausting work because the wind is against them as well. The waves keep pounding the boat. Every bit of progress is a struggle.”

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St. Paul Lutheran Church Harlingen, Texas This sermon · AI assistant

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