Have you ever been in a boat? Maybe on a kayak or even on a cruise liner. All you can see is ocean- there is no land. Thoughts can sometimes flicker across your mind -what if the boat sinks -am I safe. The same thought may have been crossing the disciples’ mind when they were in a boat one night. Jesus had gone up on the mountain to pray and had sent them away into the boat to go to the other side. As they were going across to the other side, a storm arose. Some of these guys were seasoned fisherman so they had probably been through storms before. So what did they do, they just kept rowing towards land.
As they were going, a strange thing happened. Here came Jesus walking on the water towards the boat. Now picture this, here they were straining at the oars because a storm was upon them but Jesus was just casually walking on the water. Now I don’t know whether He was walking above the waves or walking up and down with the waves but either way He was still walking – not running to jump into the boat. There was never any fear around Jesus because He had and lived in total faith and trust in God. This is the same way He wants us to live.
Our story in Matthew 14:22 to 33 takes one more different turn. When Jesus drew near the boat, Peter said that if it is you Lord, tell me to come out to you. Because Jesus lived in total faith, He said come. Peter hopped over the side of the boat and walked on water. You see faith isn’t in the boat, it is outside the boat. The boat represents our comfort and potential safety but God does not want us staying there. It states in Hebrews 11:6, that it is impossible to please God without faith or without an unwavering trust in God.
I believe God is saying to all of us – it is time to get out of the boat. God’s miracles and provision for our lives happen outside the boat. Just like Peter we can walk on the water of faith and do those things that God has for us to do. Believe me, it will take faith to do those things. God doesn’t look at our ability but our availability. If we make ourselves available by getting out of the boat, God will make us able to do what He has called us to do.
What happens if we fail? Peter did that. He looked at the big waves and circumstances around him, took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Unbelief will make us sink but that is not where we are to stay -in failure. If we look up to Jesus, He will take us by the hand and pull us back up to keep walking on the sea of faith. Jesus and Peter may have got back into the boat but I don’t believe that is where God wants us. He wants us to keep walking on the sea of faith.
This week ask God for your assignment or purpose and start walking in baby steps towards it. We may feel like we are not getting very far at first but like a baby beginning to walk, our faith will get stronger if we don’t give up. I believe in you and God believes in you. So keep going and keep living the life God intended for you! Bless you heaps!
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