Why Did You Stop?

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Matthew 14:31 (KJV)

Doubt – In ancient Hebrew, the word “doubt” did not exist. Jesus, speaking Hebrew as He did with His apostles, would not have asked Peter why he doubted. In fact, Sefaria.org notes:

Safek (doubt) is a term of Rabbinic origin—it doesn’t appear in the whole of the Bible.

So this raises the question, what did Yeshua accuse Peter of doing if it wasn’t doubting? Perhaps it was simply, Why did you stop?

We tell each other often, “Don’t give up!” It is the ultimate cry of encouragement. Keep going, don’t stop, there is still hope! And as most of the time, the ability to keep going is found within each of us. It is our determination and will that pushes us forward. As long as we continue to take the next step, Yeshua is there waiting to meet us.

If Yeshua is the goal of every work, then our commitment to the task is dutifully expected of us. We are called to action. And when you have set your mind upon that action to accomplish God’s will, don’t stop, unless Godly correction and redirection is presented.

Yes there are times when we are thrown off course, we are metaphorically drowning under the weight of trials. Like Peter, we call out for help, and Yeshua will rescue us. But even in trials under the weight of burdens, we are still expected to continue forth. Yeshua may pick us up, and brush us off, but He will simply place us back on the path and ask, “Why did you stop?”

Those simple words are a reminder that this is a race. This is a battle. This is a walk with our Creator in a fallen world. Keep going, keep fighting, and restore righteousness where you can.