{Be Loving} Get Out of The Boat

“But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” – Matthew 14:24-33 NKJV

//

I have sat though multiple sermons focused on the passage above and they were always focused on when Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I would sit and listen, and relate in too many ways…I have doubted so many times, I have fell over and over, I have cried out, “Lord, save me!”. To be honest, I would leave these sermons kind of discouraged. Sure, the Lord caught Peter, and He catches me, but I still fell in the first place.

One summer I was back home and one of the pastors started speaking on this passage but this time something was different. I had always looked at Peter in this passage and the fact that he got of the boat in the first place as having greater faith than he was credited for. This pastor agreed. His sermon was an encouragement to “get out the boat” because we have ultimate assurance and peace in Christ. He spoke on the great faith Peter had to take that first step, instead of focusing on how he started to sink.

Later that year, I heard yet another pastor speak on this passage and he also focused on the fact that Peter GOT OUT of the boat in the first place. Think about this: Peter trusted that in the storm, He would be able to walk on water to Jesus. That requires a LOT of faith if you ask me! I was faced with this question:

Would I even get out of the boat?

Or maybe here’s a better questions for you:
What is your “boat?”

We often know where The Lord is calling us out of and into but we stand on our boat waiting for some grand sign, or a even grander calming of the storms around us. We bargain (“well, once I get *blank* amount of support, then I will go,” or “well God, I need someone to confirm this TODAY or I’m not doing it.“)  to stay on our boat which is our comfort and familiarity yet He calls us to so much more.

Instead of focusing on the fall, focus on the walking. Focus on the fact that you are held by the Creator of the universe. Does this mean you’ll never fail or have moments of doubt? No. It means that you are in His hands, and in His plan.

We all have moments of doubt and sinking. That only makes the peace that He gives us in the storm even more obvious. He wants you out of your “boat” but that does require that you take action. His peace is continual but it’s hard to experience it when we aren’t moving.

Will you get out of the boat?

All it takes is one step.