Comfort zones

The water lapped the side of the boat so softly, much like a dog licking a wound. Slow and steady. I pushed, and pulled, in sync with the other followers of Jesus. We were in no hurry. The Master had dismissed the crowds, once we left shore, that much we could tell.  He told us to go on ahead. I had longed to stay with Him, but the look in His eyes and the way He had said for us to row to the other side, had told me the answer would be “no.” He must have had a reason for us to be rowing to the other side, but not a one of us had any kind of inkling as to what this could be.

But we have grown used to His peculiar ways and commands. I mean when I first met the Man, He told me to go out to where the water was deep and throw my net on the other side, the opposite from anything I had ever learned from in all my years out in a boat on the water fishing. I mean we always fished at night, and here He was asking me to fish in broad day light! The fish never bite then. Plus, couple that with the fact that I had fished all night long and had not even caught one fish! Not one! The man was crazy! But something in His eyes and the way He bid me to go set within my heart a desire to try. So I did, and to be honest I was blown away by what happened, because I had fully expected nothing to happen! Ever since that day, the day I left my nets and followed Jesus, He has done similar things over and over. Asking of myself and the others and the multitudes, the most bizarre things, but as He has said, He will use the foolishness of man to show forth the wisdom of God.

Come to think of it, that is always how God has worked.  I recall Gideon…fighting with only voices and lamps and so few numbers compared to the mass amount of enemy they faced? Or Moses, the man struggled with speaking and yet God called upon him to lead over a million people? What of David too? I mean, how does a shepherd boy, filthy, stinky, the runt of the family come to be a King of Israel? Foolishness of man to show the wisdom of God! I knew Jesus had some purpose in mind. Nothing made sense, and then He made sense of the nothing. I assumed this time would be no different.

“What do you think we will do once we get to the other side?” Matthew asked. Everyone kept rowing, a few shrugged their shoulders. “Who knows, it’s Jesus…” Thaddeus’ answer resonated with what we were all thinking. We went on rowing.

We had been rowing for quite a while when all the sudden, out of no where, the wind got stronger and switched directions. It was coming straight at us. We strained at the oars, trying to keep ourselves from capsizing. By this time we were so far from shore, we could no longer see it. Even with all twelve of us rowing, I will even admit that it was hard to row against this contrary wind and waves. We rowed all night long; it was exhausting and tiring work. We thought the night would never end.

Dawn. The sun had just crested over the hills. We had lasted through the night but now we were all exhausted. Suddenly I had felt that we were not going as fast, someone or two had stopped rowing. I look over my shoulder behind me and sure enough, Bartholomew and my own brother Andrew had quit rowing. It is amazing how much a difference even one or two people can make when they stop pulling their own weight in helping push the boat forward.

“Andrew! Bartholomew! Row! Don’t stop! We have to keep going or we will capsize and be lost to this sea! I bark as loud as I can, straining to be heard above the rage of this awful wind. They don’t even answer me. They just point straight to their right. They were stunned to silence. I follow their pointing fingers and see what they see.

“Men, look!” at my startled words the rest stop rowing.. “It’s a ghost!” Judas stammers, eyes wide, as he attempts to jump into the angry sea. Matthew grabs him. “I don’t think it’s a ghost.” But before I can even voice my opinion the man walking on water booms out “Take courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”

I rubbed my eyes, just to be sure. I mean we had been rowing all night with no sleep…I was spent, so I could very well be imagining Jesus walking on water. Nope, He was still there.

“Lord if it’s really You, then tell me to come to you on the water.” Perhaps I really did not think He would really command me to do it…perhaps I wanted to know His power could work through a lowly person such as myself…because I know it would not be anything of my own doing that would cause me to walk on water. Whatever the reason, I threw that out there. The other disciples gasped, and I could tell they thought me to be mad. Before I could even agree with them or take what I said to Jesus back, Jesus simply said “come.”

I didn’t hesitate. Whenever He told me to do something, I did it. I hoisted myself over the side of the boat. As my feet hit the water and did not sink, a nervous laugh escaped my mouth. I started out toward Jesus. One step at a time… it was so surreal. He was smiling at me, much like a father does to his child who has just learned to walk. He was proud of me. I walked a bit faster. I was within reach of Him now.  I looked away from Him for just a second, that’s all it took. I looked down at my feet, amazed at how this was even happening. That’s when I noticed the wind…and what it was doing to the waves around me. Suddenly fear struck into my heart. It swelled like the waves around me. Fear…Gripping…terrorizing…it immobilized me. I began sinking. As my body sank and the water rose up around me, I did the only thing I knew best to do “Lord save me!” I shouted. Immediately His hand reached out and grabbed mine. He said something next, I will never forget “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I didn’t have to tell Him, He knew why. He wasn’t asking me for His sake, He was asking me, for my sake. This had been a test…I had failed and He wanted me to examine and know what caused it. FEAR. I knew it…He knew it.

Fear. It is such a common thing and a very human thing. All throughout Scripture, God and His angels say to people “fear not” or “don’t be afraid.” Why? Well interactions with angels would be just creepy because they are out of this world. But also because life is full of fear. I am afraid of SO many things at all times of my life. You could probably spout off easily ten things you fear right now. Fear motivates us, moves us, numbs us, immobilizes us, stops us, and makes us go forward. The Bible says fear is not something that God gives us 2 Timothy 1:7.  If it is not something of God then we can know it is something of sin and the Father of Lies himself: Satan.

In fact, I believe in the Garden of Eden, before the fall, there was no such thing as fear. Just like there was no such thing as guilt. When you think about it, once sin entered fear and guilt did also (among other things). Everything we are afraid of has to do with sin. We fear death….death is a result of sin. We fear rejection…that is a result of sin. The list could go on and on. Fear is the absence of trust.

When I was asked to write about getting out of your comfort zone to minister to others, the first thing I thought of was the account of Peter walking on water. Peter got out of his “comfort zone.” He was used to boats, he fished in them. But to go out on the water…and not just swimming but walking on top? That’s crazy! But he did it. He got out of the boat.

 God calls us to do the same. He designed each of us with unique gifts, abilities, and personality traits. All of which can be used for His purposes and glory.

But sometimes He calls us “out of the boat” to do things that our personalities don’t really “fit.” I am an introvert, so for me this would be a speaking engagement or even sometimes something as simple as a phone call! There are only a handful of people that I am comfortable talking on the phone with and those are the ones I am super close to (husband, parents, siblings and maybe two friends). I mean I hate even calling to schedule doctor appointments for my kids! But God often asks of me, and ministry requires at times that I get out of my “boat” and do the hard thing. What kept the other disciples in the boat? Comfort and fear. There was comfort in the boat, and fear out on the water. When you think about it, those opportunities for ministry that scare us (it looks different for every person what these are) what is the thing that stops us or hinders us even when we choose to do them? Comfort and fear. There is comfort in not doing them, and fear of something or someone when we do them.

So my question to you today is when was the last time you “got out of the boat?”

Is Jesus telling you to “come”? If you are outside of the boat currently and are walking on the waves, are you keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus realizing that He is the One enabling you to do so? Or are you taking credit for yourself? Relying on yourself? Or relying on God? Are you focused on the wind and waves around you?

There are usually criticisms that come at us when we get out of the boat and do something out of our “norm.” It was completely NOT normal for a human being to walk on water. We always sink! Step into a tub, pool, or my personal favorite a hot tub and what happens? You sink. Laws of gravity. The wind and waves reminded Peter of this very fact. When we “get out of the boat”, and do something that is not normal for us, sometimes other people….but most often our own selves…tell us “we can’t do this.” And to be honest, they are right. We can’t. You see it is a faith thing. It was a faith thing for Peter. Yes, Peter himself could not walk on water, but the One he was walking to could and gave him the power to do so also.

 “Oh you of little faith.” Faith conquers fear. When we remember it is a work of God and that we are only mere instruments, then we will realize nothing is impossible for us to do, because it isn’t us doing it (John 15). So if you have stepped out of the boat, are you focused on the One who is giving you the ability?

I would love to see what “getting out of the boat” looks like for other Christ followers. So please, share in the comments what “getting out of the boat” looks like for you, or has looked like for you. How did God reveal His power through you?

I crave and thrive on behind the scenes duties: nursery, kitchen, and cleaning are my favorite ways of service and these are services that just come naturally for me. I also enjoy one on one counseling opportunities, and small group bible study and teaching young children (the older they are the less and less comfortable it is for me). Those are my “boat” ministries, where I am comfortable.  But nursing home ministry, speaking to a crowd, phone calls, or special music…those are all “getting out of the boat” ministries for me. Ministries where there is no denying, that truly was/is ALL of God!  What are yours?