When the Wind Howls

Daily Devotional: Friday, June 5, 2026
Based on the PC(USA) Daily Lectionary

Today's Readings:
Morning: Psalms 88; 148
Evening: Psalms 6; 20
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:1–7
Second Reading: Galatians 3:15–22
Gospel: Matthew 14:22–36

The Word

"But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him..."
— Matthew 14:30-31a

Reflection: When the Wind Howls

If you spend enough time with people, whether it’s walking alongside teens in crisis, counseling parishioners, trying to get along with coworkers, or just trying to show up for your own family, you quickly learn what it feels like to be out on the open water. Right now, our world feels particularly stormy. We are buffeted daily by a relentless news cycle, economic anxieties, and the profound challenges that so many ordinary folks carry just beneath the surface. The wind is definitely against us.

Peter’s story in today's Gospel reading is usually framed as a lesson in the power of faith, but it’s just as much a story about the grace of failure. Peter stepped out of the boat with the best of intentions. He wanted to do the impossible; he wanted to be near Christ. But the moment he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the turbulent reality around him, the negative self-talk took over. I can't do this. I shouldn't be out here. I'm letting everyone down.

Have you ever felt that sudden, sinking rush of inadequacy? The heavy feeling that despite your best efforts, you aren't equipped for the storms you are called to navigate?

But notice what the text says. Jesus doesn’t stand on the water with His arms crossed, shaking His head and letting Peter drown to teach him a lesson about positive thinking. When Peter cries out, Jesus immediately reaches out His hand and catches him.

Faith isn't about perfectly walking on water without ever slipping. It's about knowing who to cry out to when we start to go under. When the inner critic gets too loud, or when the weight of the people we are trying to help feels too heavy to bear, grace isn't the absence of sinking. Grace is the steady, immediate hand of Christ that pulls us back up.

Art for the Journey

For today’s reflection, take a moment with Henry Ossawa Tanner’s masterpiece, The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water (c. 1907), housed at the Des Moines Art Center.

Tanner did not render this scene with crisp lines or a superhero-like Jesus. Instead, he painted with luminous, moody blues and heavy shadows. The painting is steeped in atmosphere and uncertainty. Christ isn't a sharp, distinctly drawn figure, but a pale, shimmering light in the middle of a storm. Tanner captures what the disciples felt: awe mixed with the terror of the waves. It reminds us that Christ meets us right in the murky, confusing, and overwhelming parts of our lives.

Prayer

God of the wind and the waves,
When the storms of this world, and the storms in our own minds, threaten to pull us under, help us to cry out to You.
Forgive us when we give in to the voices of failure, fear, and inadequacy.
Remind us today that Your hand is always quicker than our sinking.
Calm our anxieties, steady our steps, and grant us the grace to simply trust Your grip.
In the name of the One who walks across our chaos to reach us,
Amen.