Not in my "safe boat"...

Not sure how I should start this one…. Guess I’ll just get to what I’m trying to say… haha… This is taken from Matthew 14:22-33… read it peeps!

Out on the sea, the 12 disciples were in their boat, in their “safe spot” being careful to stay in it. When Jesus approached their boat walking on the water, out of the 12 disciples, that actually “trusted” Jesus and had a friendship with Him, only one stepped forward to do what the others didn’t have the courage to do. Peter called out to Jesus on the water and said “If that’s really you, call me out there that I may walk on the water too”. Ok. Stop. First of all, what the heck was peter thinking?! What even gave him this idea that he could do something that JESUS was doing…? Why didn’t Peter just say something like”Now Jesus, if that’s really you, I want you to come in this boat right now”.

 When Jesus said “Come” to Peter, what did Peter do? We don’t see it that he questioned Jesus… “Now Lord, are you sure this is safe?” (I’m sure Jesus would’ve answered something like, “No, it’s not safe at all! That’s why you must trust me or else you’ll sink!”)...We don’t see it that Peter hesitated, he just went. He stepped out of the boat and did it. I’m sure the other disciples were thinking he was nuts. As Peter stepped out onto the water, I don’t even think he thought about what he was doing. (I believe the reason the other disciples didn’t go out on the water is because they thought about it first and allowed room for fear and doubt to come in their minds.) Peter’s foot hits the water, one foot in the boat, the other on the tossing sea, eyes toward Jesus, mind obviously not engaged. (Haha) I can imagine him walking slowly toward Jesus, maybe having his arms out like when a child first learns to walk towards its parent. Jesus grinning from ear to ear, watching His son trust in merely the word He spoke to Him… “Come”. Suddenly, something happens, Peter in an instant is reminded of his own human incapability to do what he is doing, that because he is a human and all of his flaws in being one, he can’t walk on the water. He begins to sink. Jesus standing there, with His countenance starts to decline as He watches His son sink. Peter, drowning in his own fear and doubt which had so subtly crept up on him, Peter calls out to Jesus, “Lord save me!”. It says “immediately” Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter.

We as Christians often start out our Christian life safe in the boat on the raging sea. We trust in our “boat” (our self) and never leave or go beyond the place in which we sit comfortably. All the while, Christ is calling out to us saying “Come!”, too often the reason we don’t “go” is because we look at all of our failures and short comings as people and say “ I can never do that, look at me! I’m in capable of doing that!” You my friend are EXACTLY right! THAT is why you have to keep your focus and your eyes on Jesus as you step out of your comfortable boat and walk on the water. The moment you look at yourself and say, “I can’t do this” because of YOUR short comings, is the moment you sink. Don’t lose sight of His eyes. But say you should, all you have to do, is call out to Him, and He’s right there to catch you.

Doing what Jesus is calling us to do is for sure not easy or normal… (Neither of these things which Peter did was easy nor normal, in fact, it was impossible!). But because Peter trusted Jesus, Peter walked on the water. Yes, he experienced failure, but he was human! But yet he still did it! I rather do something, succeed for 9 minutes and fail for 1, then not having attempted to at all, failing altogether.

In life, having trust in Him will sustain you. It will keep your feet on the water. Don’t let your mind get engaged, cause you’re head will tell you it’s impossible to do! Just do it! (Nike!) Haha… about a month or two ago, I went cliff jumping for the first time, standing at the top of the cliff, I couldn’t THINK about jumping off; I just had to do it! The moment I started to think about it, is when my head got involved and started to tell me of all the dangers and fear that was trying to hold me back. When you’re at that place of wanting to step out of the boat and trust Jesus with your life and future and direction, do NOT think about it, just do it! The more you think about it the more time you allow for fear (and the devil) to come in and stop you! In a biblical word, just trusting Christ without thinking and letting your head tell you “no it’s not possible” … is what we call “Faith”. 

Everyone is already playing it safe by just sitting in the boat, it's those who are out of the boat, trusting Christ with their life that are making the difference. Notice how the bible hardly says a thing about the disciples who stayed in the boat while Peter walked on the water? Everyone does that. Get out of the boat. :)

When you keep your eyes fixed on HIM and HIS ability to do it and not your own, absolutely ANYthing is possible. Nothing is impossible! Especially if He is the one calling you to do it in the first place.

Be brave, don’t think or analyze things too much, be wise, but have faith!