The Moment Peter Sank: Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus When Life Feels Unsteady

When life suddenly shifts and everything feels unsteady, how do you keep your eyes on Jesus instead of sinking into fear?
In this new season of Encounters at the Well, I am introducing short teaching episodes where it is just you and me opening God’s Word together — finding peace, clarity, and strength for real life.

In today’s teaching, “The Moment Peter Sank: Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus When Life Feels Unsteady,” we look at one of the most relatable stories in Scripture — the moment Peter stepped out of the boat in faith and then began to sink.

Peter had the courage to walk toward Jesus. But when the wind rose and the waves crashed, his eyes shifted from faith to fear. And yet — in that exact moment — Jesus reached out and caught him.

Maybe you have been there too. You started the day strong. You prayed. You trusted. But then one phone call, one diagnosis, one unexpected shift — and suddenly your peace was gone.

In this episode, we talk about how to:

• Fix your eyes on Jesus when everything feels uncertain
 • Strengthen your faith in the middle of the storm
 • Trust God’s timing even when it does not match your own
 • Pray expectantly as a daughter who knows her Father hears her

We will walk through Scripture together, including:

• Matthew 14:22–33 — Peter walks on water
 • 2 Chronicles 20:12 — “Our eyes are on You”
 • Psalm 16:8 — “I have set the Lord continually before me”
 • Romans 8:28 — “All things work together for good”
 • Hebrews 12:2 — “Fixing our eyes on Jesus”

Whether you are standing strong or feel like you are sinking, this episode will remind you of this truth — Jesus has never taken His eyes off you. Even when your faith wavers, His grip never does.

If life feels unsteady, this is your gentle invitation to lift your gaze, steady your heart, and trust the One who still walks on the waves.

Listen now to “The Moment Peter Sank: Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus When Life Feels Unsteady.”

For more faith-centered encouragement, devotionals, and Christian life coaching, visit my website:
 👉 www.hopeandhealinglifecoach.com

You can also connect with me and join our growing community online:
 🌿 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574602179682

🌿 Instagram: @hope_and_healing325

Wherever you’re listening from today, I pray this episode reminds you that even in the storm, Jesus is closer than the waves. Keep your eyes on Him — because He’s never taken His eyes off you. 💙

Website: www.hopeandhealinglifecoach.com

Email: amydonathan@hopeandhealing.faith

Website:  www.hopeandhealinglifecoach.com

Email:  amydonathan@hopeandhealing.faith

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey friend, welcome to Encounters at the Well. I'm Amy Jonathan, and I am so glad that you're here. So if you've been listening for a while, you know that my podcast has often been a space where I have real honest conversations about faith, healing, hope with some of my very best friends. But starting today, I wanted to add something new. I feel that as women, we know a lot about the Bible, but how to apply it to our lives sometimes. Sometimes that that's hard. I have a lot of places in my Bible where I say, Lord, show me what this looks like in my life. And so these short teaching episodes will help me, hopefully, help you be able to see what it looks like in your life. Today's episode is called The Moment Peter Sank and What It Teaches Us. So we're going to dig into what it really means to keep our eyes on God, especially when life feels heavy or uncertain. So to set the stage, and how I got on this whole idea for this podcast, it's from Dream Scrolling on Facebook and Instagram. So my algorithm probably is totally messed up. It's a strange mix of Christian reels, workout videos, fainting goats, and everything in between. But one video that I saw really caught my attention, and it showed these people walking across this bridge over this really deep gorge. And they were scared and they were trembling and they were looking down. As soon as they looked up and they grabbed the hand of the person in front of them and they focused on that person and on taking one step at a time and not looking down, they made it across much faster. Their fear ebbed because they weren't focused on the chaos below them, the gorge, the river, everything below them and how far down it was. They were focused on the person in front of them and taking one step at a time. And so I got to thinking about that and thought that's exactly what God tells us to do. All throughout scripture, he talks about to lift our eyes to him, to look to him, and to not focus on the fear, not focus on the chaos, but focus on him. One of the clearest examples in the Bible that I can think of is when Peter walked on the water toward Jesus. So to set the stage, um, Jesus had been preaching, and then he sent his disciples in a boat across the sea, and he went up to pray. And then when he got finished praying, he walked on water towards the boat, and it was a storm. There were big waves, there was lots of wind, and here comes Jesus walking across the water. And Peter looks out and he stepped out of the boat. That took a lot of courage and a lot of faith to step out of that boat. But Peter did it. And then he started walking towards Jesus. But just like life happens to us, those waves, they were high, that wind, it was strong. And Peter took his eyes off Jesus and focused on that and started sinking. And he cried out to Jesus, Lord, save me. And of course, Jesus came and he saved him. But he asked Peter a question, You of little faith, why did you doubt? And I think that happens to a lot of us. We wake up in the morning, we spend time with God, we read our Bibles, we pray, we have some worship music going on, and we feel centered and peaceful. And maybe you think this is gonna be a great day. I feel so close to God and I can do anything. And then your life happens, and it happens all at once, the good stuff and the bad stuff or the hard stuff. Like you can, you have that feeling of, you know, I just connected with God and and your kids did their chores without a lot of hassle. And um, you got a nice text message from a friend just checking in, and then your kids argue, and then your phone rings with hard news, and then your husband says he has to leave town right before your birthday. And then you hear a friend has a diagnosis of cancer, and all of that happens at one time, and you become like Peter. So what you had in the beginning of the day is overshadowed by everything going on in your life, but just like those waves, they come up and you start focusing on them and you start sinking. And so in that those moments, we have a choice. Do we keep sinking or do we cry out to God? Do we search his word for the truth, or do we search Google for what we can do? And then if you do search his word, do you actually trust his word? When it says to look to him, do you actually trust that that is what you're supposed to do and that is going to make it better? And so I'll be honest, trust isn't always easy for me. Um, God's word goes against just about everything this world teaches us. My son once said to me, Mom, I can't even imagine what heaven's going to be like because there's nothing down here to compare it to. And he was so right. It is hard to imagine that when we do the things that God tells us to do, like keeping our eyes on him, loving sinners, choosing humility, refusing fear, that it's somehow all going to work out. But scripture promises us in Romans 8.28, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. We only see what's right in front of us the temporary, the visible, the now. But God sees this eternal picture of our life. And that means every single thing, the good, the heartbreaking, the blessings, the burdens can be and will be used for his glory and our good. To put it in more of a perspective that helps me understand, because when my kids were little and they wanted to um go to the neighbor's house and um to do that, they had to cross the road. Well, they weren't allowed to play in the road, they weren't allowed to cross the road without an adult there or without looking. Um, was I doing that to be mean? No. Did they think I was mean? Absolutely. They wanted to go to their friend's house. They weren't thinking that a car could come down the road and run them over. They did not see this picture that I could see. They weren't looking there. They they knew what they wanted and they went for it. And that could have been very dangerous for them. But I knew, I knew the danger. I knew that if I let them do that, it would be horrible if something happened. And so, as a mom, I took them away from that. I would not let them do that. They got disciplined when they did do that. And it wasn't because I was mean, it was because I love them so much that I didn't want anything to happen to them. But they couldn't see that. And that is how we are. We cannot see this eternal picture that God has of our lives. We can only see this little bit day by day that he gives us. And so trusting is hard, but knowing that he is a loving God and he only does things for his glory and our good helps us hopefully understand a little bit more about why he allows things in our life or at least be able to handle them. So, what does all this have to do with looking up? It really is about trust. It's about believing that God is who he says he is, that his word is true, even when our life doesn't make sense and what we are reading in his word doesn't seem to make sense. And it doesn't in this world, but it does in a God's eternal picture of your life. And we also have to trust that when we pray, he hears us. Even when it feels like he doesn't, he does. And he is always working and he always wants your good. And so I will admit I struggle in this sometimes. Um, not so much about his plan, because if you listen to the my my story on my last podcast, um, you know, he had some plans that I probably didn't really agree with, but I've come to learn that his plans are always best. My problem, his timing. I want what I want when I want it. And rarely is God's timing the same as mine. So I have to trust that when I am praying for something, that he hears me and he's gonna answer. But it may not be on my time. And to that, expecting him to answer. Like as a mom, I think about my own kids. And when they would ask me a question, I would hope that they expected me to answer. I wanted them to have that expectation that I would answer them. That's part of our relationship. They ask me a question, I give them an answer. It's not always the answer they want, but I would always give them an answer. So why shouldn't I expect my heavenly father to answer me? And not in a way as I'm the boss and I expect an answer from you, but you are my father. Please answer me. So if you find yourself in this place where life feels heavy and you are not sure what to do, look up, lift your eyes to Jesus, search his word, and then choose to believe it. Even if you have to say things to yourself, like you read a scripture and it says like in Philippians 2.13, for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. I can look at that scripture and say, I have been trying to do things on my own for a long time and thinking that that's what I needed to do on my own. But God's word said he will work in me for his good pleasure. And I choose to believe that God is always at work in me. And I sometimes have to tell myself that over and over and over again until it finally gets deep down in my heart to where I know that whatever I'm doing, because I am God's, he will work in me for his good pleasure. And that gives me confidence to go and do what I need to do. So I hope this helped. If you have any questions, please send me an email, send me a message on my Facebook page, Hope and Healing Life Christian Life Coach, and just know that I'm here and I'm praying for you. So let's close with prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for this sister who knows you, who loves you, and who's trying to keep her eyes on you even in the middle of the storm. Remind her that you are faithful, that you have never once taken your eyes off of her. When she starts to sink under the weight of worry or disappointment, help her to cry out, Lord, save me, and know that you always reach out your hand. Give her peace that steadies her heart and faith that keeps her gaze fixed on you. Teach her to trust your timing, to believe your promises, and to walk with confidence, knowing that you are good and you are near. Help her to take that step of faith and say, Lord, I need you. Forgive me. I want to walk with you. Surround her with your peace and begin to transform her from the inside out. I pray all of these things in excitement and expectation and in your powerful name. Amen. So, friend, whatever is in front of you this week, keep looking up because the one you're looking toward will never let you fall. Thanks for joining me today on Encounters at the Well. If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need that same reminder. You can listen to more episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and find more resources and encouragement at my website, hopeandhealinglifecoach.com. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus.