What encourages me is that when Peter calls out for Jesus to save him, Jesus is right there and lifts him back into the boat. That is the case for all of us as well. All we have to do is ask Jesus to save us and He will. In fact, He's been working at trying to save us this entire time. It's been our own stubbornness and fear that has kept us from accepting His help, sometimes going to far as to reject Him completely. Yet despite all of that, He is still there, ready to save us.
Today's sermon was given by a newly ordained priest who spoke about his own difficulties in coming to believe in Jesus as well as what led him to the decision to enter the clergy. He spoke about selfishly looking for happiness in the places where the world says that we will find happiness, yet becoming miserable instead. He had family and a support system of friends who were able to help him recognize that all he had to do was ask Jesus to help him.
The first reading speaks of listening for God and expecting Him to let Himself be known through massive winds and earthquakes. Yet, in the end, God's call is like a the smallest whisper. He has been with us forever, so long that we don't notice His presence unless we take the time to recognize it. He's here with me now, helping in ways that I rarely recognize, quiet as a whisper, but capable of quelling the strongest storm.