“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:22-31)
There are times when taking that first step of faith comes easily, and there are times when taking that first step of faith seems utterly unbearable. There are many reasons why you might choose to hold back from taking that first step of faith. You could be fearful of what the Lord is doing, or you could be fearful of where the Lord might take you after you take that first step. What are the stipulations if you take that step? Will the Lord truly be able to take care of you after you take the first step? And what about your finances? Will that part of your life be stable? What about your security, your ambitions, your dreams, does all of that just go down the tubes or is God going to use that down the road?
Or maybe you’re scared to take the first step because you don’t know where to take the first step. Perhaps you feel as if God has forgotten you. You see Him in the lives of those around you, hear stories from friends and family members that discuss all the exciting things God is doing in their life, but yet…you feel forgotten. Maybe it’s been a while since God revealed Himself to you in a new way. Or, maybe you’re pursuing God harder than you ever have before, but yet…He seems so silent. You think to yourself, “If God really cared about the intricacies of my heart, then He wouldn’t be so silent.” You know in your head that He loves you, but yet, in your heart…you feel so alone, rejected, forgotten, and the silence of God seems unbearable.
Walking with the Lord is not a stroll in the park, but you already know that. There are times when life can be overwhelming and seem unbearable. Does God really care about those times in your life or does He walk away and abandon you in the hard times? Is God fully capable of taking care of you?
Within a span of a couple weeks I had several friends going through tough times. For one friend of mine, her boyfriend had broken up with her and she was terribly upset. As I drove over to her house, I prayed God would give me words of comfort to give her as I let her cry on my shoulder that night. I knew that there was nothing I could say that would make her feel instantly better at that moment and that only the Lord could truly heal the pain in her heart, but I reminded her of God’s promises and of the immaculate love of Christ. About a week later, another friend was struggling with a situation in her life and I comforted her and encouraged her with passages of Scripture and told her how great God’s plans were for her. A couple days later when another friend texted me and asked if she could come over, I knew something was wrong instantly. I told her to come on over and I’d start brewing some hazelnut coffee. (Anyone who knows me knows that coffee is my remedy for most of my daily bumps along the road.) She was also going through some hard times and we sat together with our coffee and talked through the heartache in her life and words of comfort the Lord would say to her if He was sitting next to her at that very moment. Later that day, like a ton of bricks I was faced with some hard situations. At that moment I realized I had a choice…I could truly believe in all the advice and comfort found in the Scriptures that I had given to my friends during their hard times…or I could doubt God’s plans for my life.
You see, the greatest thing about God is that His plans, purposes, and promises do not change. For “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Unfortunately, the things in our lives, even the things that we perceive as steadfast and constant, can change. Oftentimes, instead of focusing on Christ as the perfect, omni-present, omniscient God that He is, we put our own characteristics on Him. We think that God actually does not have our best in minds because if He did, then surely He wouldn’t take someone out of our lives that we wanted in our lives. We think that if God had our best in mind, we would get the job that fit perfectly in our plan. Or, we think that God would not allow us to experience sickness, pain, or heartache.
We are the fallible ones who serve an infallible God. Yet, how often when we get in the grit of life, do we truly grasp onto the knowledge that we serve a God who is everything we need? We sing songs that He is our everything, but yet, we live our lives as if He is our everything only when things are going well.
By the time that Peter was walking on the water, the disciples had already seen God perform countless miracles. In fact, right before Peter walked on the water, Jesus had fed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. We can look at the passage and say with pride, “Oh look how little Peter’s faith was! He had just seen Jesus feed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, and he still didn’t believe that Jesus could allow him to walk on water.” But, how many miracles has it taken in your life to keep you from second guessing God’s power and faithfulness? Despite the miracles you’ve seen do you still second guess God?
Perhaps you do still second guess God’s power and faithfulness in your life. Take a moment and reflect on all the things that God has done in your life. First of all, if you have entrusted your life to Him, then He has saved you from the pits of Hell. Take another look at your life, look at the blessings He has provided you with. Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re probably on your own computer, in a house that has air conditioning/heat, and you have food in your pantry. You may not have all the clothes you want, but you have enough to be appropriately dressed for the places you need to go. You have an education because you know how to read these words. You have hands that work, eyes that can see, and your body is functioning. There might be sickness and there may be pain in your life through diseases, but at this moment right now…you’re breathing and you’re alive.
Take a look at the ways God has protected you in your life as well. Perhaps He has kept you and your loved ones cancer free. Your house has not been destroyed in a natural disaster. You did not get in a wreck today when you were on the road. There have been times when you could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time…but you weren’t.
You might have been through immense pain in your life…yet God has protected you from worse things. But perhaps because of all the things that have gone wrong in your life, it is hard for you to trust that God is there for you when it comes time for you to take that step of faith. Peter had seen God do countless miracles, but none of them had put him in a crisis of belief moment. When he stepped out of the boat, onto the water, he had to decide and face whether or not his faith was enough for him. All he had to do was keep his eyes on Christ, the author and perfecter of his faith, and he would be able to walk on the water.
However, Christ did not call Peter to come to him when it was broad daylight…it was before dawn. He didn’t call Peter to come to him when he was standing on the shore and the seas were shallow…he was in the middle of the sea. He didn’t even call Peter when the seas were calm…the stirring of the winds is what frightened Peter. You see, the circumstances that Christ called Peter to Himself were not perfect, they were in the midst of the dark, deep waters with the wind stirring. That is where Christ calls you from…when your faith is the only thing you can cling to.
The time had come when he had to decide…he had to make the choice of whether or not Jesus would be able to do everything that He had said He could do…when it directly affected him. As you read in the passage, Peter was fine…until he took his eyes off of Christ and got caught up in the moment of his circumstances. As long as his focus was on Christ…he could walk on water! Now that’s not something you can just choose to go do apart from the power of Christ!! But in that moment, Peter, took His eyes off of the prize, off of the reward, off of the end result, off of his Jesus. And he began to sink. Peter’s first words when he began to sink were, “Lord, save me!” At that crucial moment, when he began to sink, he knew that the Lord was the only one who could save him. There are people who commend Peter and discuss how Peter was the only one who actually got out of the boat and took the first step towards Christ to begin with. While this is true, the lesson is found in those that did and didn’t get out of the boat.
You see, we are faced with this choice on a daily basis and Christ is asking you if your faith is strong enough to keep you afloat. Wherever you are right now, there are others around you. Chances are, with the world full of sin around us, there are few people around you who have the faith to take a stand, get out of the boat, and take that first stand towards Christ. Perhaps this is what is keeping you from getting out of the boat…you don’t want to get out alone. But God didn’t promise that you would be surrounded by people joining you along this faith journey, He said, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). However, He did say that He would be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Christ is asking you today to get out of the boat and join him on the waters of life, where He promises you that you will have abundant life (John 10:10). He doesn’t say that it is going to be easy. In fact, in Isaiah 43 He talks about the fire, waves, and waters that you will go through. But, you will not go through them alone and He tells you how precious and honored you are in His sight, and how much He loves you (Isaiah 43:1-4). However, you must keep your eyes fixed on Him. He wants to give you more than you can even imagine. I know that first step is scary…but I promise you will not be disappointed.
I’ve been in your shoes — when the going gets tough in the lives of those around you, it’s easy to comfort them with God’s Word, but when the going gets tough in your life, you just want to run away. But, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). God hasn’t gone anywhere…remember those blessings in your life that you reflected upon a moment ago? He’s still the same God that gave you those blessings. Remember His protection in your life thus far…yes, that is the same God that’s working in your life right now. And the Christ that Peter walked on water with? He’s your Jesus too.
Your God has not forgotten you. He is not leaving you stranded on a boat all alone. He is not leaving you stranded anywhere or at any time. He’s holding out His hand to you for you to join Him on the waters of life. He has amazing plans for you that are to prosper you and not to harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). Oh how I pray that we can grasp how long, how wide and long, and high and deep, the love of Christ is (Ephesians 3:18). Is He going to reveal to you where you are headed? Not right now, but that will come in time. The only thing you need to do right now is muster up that courage, be bold, and take that first step out of the boat.
Don’t forget who God is when you encounter the bumps along the way…He hasn’t changed–even when your circumstances have. He is not going to forsake you, He is not going to leave you, He is not going to abandon you. Why? Because He loves you. His love is more than you will ever know and He is drawing you to His side. Don’t wait until you start sinking to ask the Lord to save you, trust Him now. While the path might not always be on the calm waters, when you have Jesus at your side–there is nothing you cannot do. He is there for you…always.
Don’t be afraid any longer. Get out of the boat, take the first step, and keep your eyes on Christ. No matter what comes along your path, keep those eyes on Him and I promise you, He will not let you go…He will not let you sink…He will hold you always.
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