Jeremiah was not the most cheerful or encouraging of prophets. He seemed to be always preaching ‘doom and gloom.' His message to his fellow Israelites was that the suffering and disaster that they had suffered and would suffer for some time to come was their own fault. They were guilty— case closed! That was the bad news, but he also had some very good news for them: God was going to heal and restore the nation. God's compassion would triumph in the end. So it is with us. Often we make a mess of things and suffer the consequences, but God always runs before us so that he can lift us up and heal us. No pain or disaster is permanent, but God's compassion and mercy is.

People don't normally walk across the water but that is exactly what Peter was doing. Peter challenged Jesus to prove that it was truly he by enabling him, Peter, to walk across the water to him. Sure enough, he did, and Peter was doing just fine. But disaster struck the moment he took his eyes and his thoughts off Jesus and allowed his fear and doubt to overpower him. He nearly drowned, and a disappointed Jesus chastised him for his lack of faith. With unwavering faith and trust, we can accomplish so much and overcome so many obstacles. But with fear and doubt at the controls, there is very little that we can do. Perhaps that is why we like Peter — he is so much like us! Have faith; put away doubt — and wait for the miracles to happen.