Matthew 14:29 “‘Come,’ said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus.”
Peter gets a hard press for his repeated blunders but he was the only one who had the courage in the first place to step out in faith and walk on water. Yes, he then took his eyes off Jesus and sank under the water, but nobody could ever take that glorious experience away from him. He took the plunge, and I’m sure he never regretted it.
How about you? The nature of the life of faith is that we are drawn out of our comfort zones and beyond areas of our own control. Otherwise faith isn’t needed, and we can manage in our own strength. Be honest with God. I believe sometimes he speaks and challenges us to move with him, but we quash his voice for years and years out of fear. Be open to him afresh today to rattle your cage of self-sufficiency. Maybe this poem will resonate with you on some level:
“To sinful patterns of behaviour that never get confronted and changed,
Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed –
Until weeks become months
And months turn into years,
And one day you’re looking back on a life of
Deep intimate gut-wrenchingly honest conversations you never had;
Great bold prayers you never prayed,
Exhilarating risks you never took,
Sacrificial gifts you never offered
Lives you never touched,
And you’re sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul
And forgotten dreams,
And you realise there was a world of desperate need,
And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself –
You see the person you could have become but did not;
You never followed your calling.
You never got out of the boat.”
Lord, may the above not be the case with me! I choose to get out of the boat and keep my eyes fixed on you today. Amen!
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