“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” – Matthew 14:31 KJV

“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” – Mark 9:23 KJV

Is it impossible to walk on water? Obviously not. For that’s precisely what Peter did in response to Jesus telling him to come to Him on the water. Incidentally, if you don’t know the story you can read it in Matthew 14:25-33. Now, if it was possible for Peter to walk on water, then why is it so hard for some to believe that it’s possible to keep God’s commandments? I’m bringing this up because a number of people think that way; that is, they believe that we can’t do all of His commandments. But would God command us to do something that we couldn’t do? Does that even make sense? I don’t believe so.

And here’s where the rubber meets the road, so to speak: Peter walked on water not because he exercised faith in himself, but because Jesus told Him to. You see, in telling Peter to come to Him in this way, Jesus was essentially saying, ‘You can do this, not because you think you can, but because I’m telling you to do it.’ And so Peter was able to accomplish what Jesus had commanded by exercising faith in His words. In other words, Jesus gave him something to believe in, which became possible for him to achieve because he exercised faith in Jesus Christ. Of course, when he allowed himself to become distracted by the boisterous winds he became fearful, and thus he began to sink. For he lost sight of Jesus, and was therefore no longer able to do the so-called impossible. Yet when he cried out for help, Jesus not only heard his cry, He saved him. This reminds me of how the cares of the world often distract us from hearing God’s voice. We look away from Jesus when we ought to cast our cares on Him, and thus we sink deeper and deeper into sin. But just as Jesus saved Peter from drowning, so also does He come to our rescue when we call on Him for help. He doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves when we mess up, but is faithful to come to our aid when we acknowledge our need for Him.

Listen, it isn’t impossible to keep God’s commandments, at least not when you’re exercising faith in Him. It’s when we allow the things of this world to distract us from looking to Jesus Christ that we fail to keep them. So, the key to accomplishing what God commands of us is to keep our eyes on Jesus, exercising unwavering faith in His words. We won’t be empowered to keep God’s commandments simply by looking at them. Nevertheless, by observing them we will be able to see what God expects from us, and how far we fall short in doing His will. Thus, their purpose isn’t to save us from our sins, but to disclose what it means to walk in love. Of course, where we see that we fall short in keeping them we can cry out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus will do the same thing for us that He did for Peter; that is, He will come to our aid and rescue us from death. For He who knows no failure has the power to save us from our failures. Hence salvation does not come by the Law, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

You see, when we allow Jesus to lift us up, good works will follow. After all, that is what God created us for; that is, for good works (Ephesians 2:10). And where we once failed to do His will, we will succeed in carrying it out, not in our own strength, but by allowing Jesus to take hold of our lives, by abiding in Him (John 15:4-10). This brings me to yet another important lesson that can be gleaned from Peter’s experience. I think it’s reasonable to conclude that because Peter got back into the boat that he walked on water again. Of course, he didn’t make it back to the boat by walking by himself; He made it there because he walked with Jesus. And just as Peter was able to make it back to the boat by walking with Jesus, we will be able to keep God’s commandments if we do the same. For He has the power to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24). Hence, by walking with Jesus we will go where God wants us to go and do what He wants us to do; we will keep His commandments.

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” – 1 John 2:3-6 KJV

Now, please keep something in mind here. Ceasing from making moral mistakes isn’t like turning off a light switch. We will continue to fail at times. Nevertheless, as long as Christ is near we can cry out to Him for help, believing that He will enable us to rise above that which is consuming us. For we have assurance that He is able to save us to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25). Indeed, He will lift us up from our failures and set us back on our feet again, giving us an opportunity to start life afresh in living according to the will of God. But we must say, ‘Lord, Save me!’

So, the next time that you hear someone say we can’t keep God’s commandments, ask them if they believe it’s possible to walk on water. Then tell them all about Peter’s experience with Jesus. Make no excuses to try to justify not keeping God’s commandments; instead, exercise complete faith in His words. For He will never lie to you. By doing this you will see that it is possible to do what He commands of you; that is, as long as you abide in Him. He can keep you from falling, but you must be willing to let Him take hold of your life.

Having said that, is there some sin that you’re letting keep you from experiencing the power of God in this way? Do you really want to go where God wants you to go and do what He wants you to do? If so, cast your cares on Jesus, and see that He can save you from your troubles. Let Him embrace your life, not in part but the whole. And He will surely show you that all things are possible with God, to those who believe. In other words, don’t doubt anything that God says to you; instead, say, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe.’ For you can believe it, because He said it!