Matthew 14:22–33

“Be Not Afraid”

Jesus Christ depicted walking on the sea of Galilee toward a small fishing boat. The Apostles are in the fishing boat and are watching Christ walk toward them. There are storm clouds in the sky.

Jesus Christ walked on water and invited Peter to do so as well. As Peter saw the storm and waves, he began to sink and cried out to the Savior for help. This lesson can help you follow Peter’s example of turning to the Savior during fearful or overwhelming situations.

Jesus can calm us during storms of life

Jesus Christ depicted walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee. The Apostle Peter is in the water. Christ is extending His hand to Peter to prevent Peter from sinking.

This image portrays a terrifying moment in the Apostle Peter’s life. Matthew 14:30 states, “[Peter] was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.”

What modern situations can cause youth today to feel like Peter?

Is there anything in your life that is causing you to feel afraid or to feel like you’re sinking?

Ponder for a moment where or whom you normally turn to for help and peace when you are feeling this way.After miraculously feeding over five thousand people, Jesus Christ asked His disciples “to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side” of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22).

Read Matthew 14:23–33, looking for truths about the Savior that can help you turn to Him when you feel afraid or feel like you’re sinking. Be mindful of thoughts and feelings that come from the Holy Ghost. He can help you recognize how these truths apply to what you are experiencing in your life. Write the truths you identify in your study journal or in your scriptures. (Note: “The fourth watch” was between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.)

Writing on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil.

Focus on the Savior

Peter’s example teaches us what we should focus on. Remember what happened to Peter when he focused on Jesus Christ and what happened when he shifted his focus to the storm around him (see verses 28–31). Write on a piece of paper something in your life or future that might feel overwhelming to you. Place this paper on the left side of you. Now place a picture of Jesus Christ or something else that reminds you of Him on your right side. Alternate back and forth between focusing your thoughts and eyes on the overwhelming situation and then on the picture of Jesus Christ.

You may want to watch the video “Finding Christ during Difficult Times” (4:35), located on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, looking for what the young man in the video did to turn his focus to Jesus Christ during his challenges.

To conclude this lesson, record the impressions you have received. What did you learn about Jesus Christ and why we should turn to Him when we are sinking? What do you plan to do to reach out to Him?

Optional: Want to Learn More?

How do our lives change when we focus on Jesus Christ?

President Howard W. Hunter (1907–95) taught:

It is my firm belief that if as individual people, as families, communities, and nations, we could, like Peter, fix our eyes on Jesus, we too might walk triumphantly over “the swelling waves of disbelief” and remain “unterrified amid the rising winds of doubt.” But if we turn away our eyes from him in whom we must believe, as it is so easy to do and the world is so much tempted to do, if we look to the power and fury of those terrible and destructive elements around us rather than to him who can help and save us, then we shall inevitably sink in a sea of conflict and sorrow and despair.

(Howard W. Hunter, “The Beacon in the Harbor of Peace,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 19)

Matthew 14:27. How can we “be of good cheer” when we are experiencing hardships?

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

We cannot have “good cheer” [Doctrine and Covenants 68:6] and be mired in fear. The two—cheer and fear—are mutually exclusive. …

To be of good cheer is to trust [Jesus Christ] when things don’t work as we planned. It means to soldier on when difficult tasks and twists in life take us in unexpected directions, when tragedy and hardship shatter our dreams. But the Lord reminds us, “In this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full” [Doctrine and Covenants 101:36].

(Ronald A. Rasband, “Jesus Christ Is the Answer” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 8, 2019], 1–2)

How can fear cause us to lose blessings that the Savior offers?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the following statement:

This scriptural account reminds us that the first step in coming to Christ—or his coming to us—may fill us with something very much like sheer terror. It shouldn’t, but it sometimes does. One of the grand ironies of the gospel is that the very source of help and safety being offered us is the thing from which we may, in our mortal shortsightedness, flee. For whatever the reason, I have seen investigators run from baptism, I have seen elders run from a mission call, I have seen sweethearts run from marriage, and I have seen young couples run from the fear of families and the future. Too often too many of us run from the very things that will bless us and save us and soothe us. Too often we see gospel commitments and commandments as something to be feared and forsaken.

(Jeffrey R. Holland, “Come unto Me” [Brigham Young University devotional, Mar. 2, 1997], 8, speeches.byu.edu)