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?
