Today’s household object is the invisible but immensely useful electricity, and our Bible passage is Matthew 14:15-33, where Jesus walks on water in a storm and encourages Peter to do the same.
Electricity is another double-edged sword, so to speak, providing us with heat and light which fuel our everyday modern lives, but it has the potential to be deadly. The single phase electric power that runs through our walls carries alternating current between the power grid and the household, and is usually earthed to prevent damage from lightning. Circuit breakers and fuses are there to protect us from power surges or other problems. We often take these things for granted, but this is another example of something being a good servant when used wisely and a bad master!
Electricity is powerful but invisible, and reminds us that we can’t always see God or His power. Peter had to take a step of faith when he got out of the boat and started to walk on water, based on the fact he had seen Jesus do the same. When he took his eyes off Jesus, doubt resurfaced and he began to sink. It can be hard at times to believe in the power of God when we can’t see what He is doing.
Gordon Giles comments that ‘what we all need when we are sinking, or when the fuses are blown, is a renewed encounter, in the heart of the storm, with our Lord Jesus, the spiritual electrician of our buffeted souls. His call and His hand of help are offered and outstretched amid the short circuits of despair and the raging waters of self-doubt.’ (‘At Home In Lent’, P 102)