Matthew 14:29b
"So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus."
A few years ago, I remember my accountability partner and I read a book entitled, "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" by John Ortberg. At the time I read the book, I didn't realize how much it would impact me. This book dissects this account of Peter walking on water and gives great insight into how it can be applied to our lives.
Peter is the disciple I can relate to the most. Deep inside of him is this burning desire to be bold and lead, but there is also a part of him that has the best intentions but fails miserably. This account of Peter walking on the water encompasses every attribute of Peter's humanity and dilemma (and mine, too). As I read through this passage again, questions started popping into my head. First of all, how good am I at recognizing God's presence? Every disciple that was on that boat didn't realize it was Jesus in the distance. When times are good, or when I'm in corporate worship, identifying God's presence is easy. Conversely, when times are bad and things aren't going my way, when the waves of life are crashing all around me, it's difficult to determine if I really see a figure in the distance standing on the water asking me to step out of the boat. The boat is really comfortable and secure. Stepping out into the rough seas of the unknown is scary and risky. It is then that I must realize, as Ortberg said, that this is not just a story about risk-taking, it's a story about obedience. Obeying God can be difficult, because we have to face things that aren't enjoyable like pride, control, and failure. We were made for something more than merely avoiding these things, though. There is something inside us that wants to walk on the water and join in on the adventure of following God with reckless abandon.
This begs the next question...what is the "boat" that is keeping me from living this adventure? My "boat" represents safety and security. It's something that I put my trust in other that God. It represents something that I may not be willing to give up. It could be my pride, my belief in my own talents and gifts, money, family, or relationships. I have to have an honest conversation with myself to figure this part out. Stepping out of my "boat" means that another piece of me has to die. God is calling me out on the water to purify me of something else in my life that doesn't reflect Him.
Peter was facing these same thoughts in his head, but he decides to abandon his own comfort and reason and throw caution to the wind. He swings his legs over the side of the boat and....stands! Peter put his entire faith, trust and reason in the hands of Jesus, his Savior, and then, he takes a step. Was there danger in getting out of the boat? Absolutely. But, as Ortberg states, there is also danger in staying in the boat. If I never get out of the boat, I never fully join in on the adventure God wants me to take. Staying in the boat means that I only want to follow God according to my terms, not according to His. It also means that I am allowing my enemy to cloud my view of who God is and what He has planned for me.
Now, what happens once we're out of the boat? I'm glad you asked. Whenever I have stepped out of the boat to follow after God, I experienced setbacks, I faced opposition, there were obstacles that I didn't know about or see, and there was plenty of fear. Let me go ahead and say that there are times that you are going to fail miserably, just like Peter. Can we just come to grip with that fact? Peter didn't make it all the way to Jesus. Jesus had to come to Peter's rescue. Ortberg says is perfectly, "Failure is not an event, but rather a judgment about an event. Failure is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things. It is a way we think about outcomes." Peter knew, all too well, the shame of public failure. In front of his closest friends, and in front of his Teacher, he failed. However, Peter was the only one, in this instance, that knew the amazing feeling of walking on the water. No one else got out of the boat. Failure is a vital part of learning and growing. Through all of my failures, I have gained a lot of wisdom as well.
Why risk the ocean? Why should I risk all my comforts and safety to step out into tumultuous waters? Ortberg closes out his book with the best statement to answer this question, "The water is where Jesus is." It's really that simple. What should inspire me to leave my comfort, my safety, my security? Jesus. Most of the time. I try to manage my life to the point where my family is safe and secure, where I can predict what is going to happen (for the most part), and where I can present the illusion that I have everything under control. What does this achieve, though? I think God is calling us all to step out the boat of our cookie cutter lives. I know that when I step out onto the water, I will fail. Sometimes, I will fail miserably, and I'll do in front of my family and my friends...and that's okay. It's all part of the journey. Then, every once in a while, through the power of the One who called me out there in the first place...I will walk on water. When that happens, it's all worth it. It makes all the failures that I had along the way disappear. In that moment, with the waves crashing in all around me, with my eyes focused on my Savior in the distance, I walk with reckless abandon. It is then, that I live!
"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"
by Hillsong United
Verse 1
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand
Chorus 1
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Verse 2
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sov'reign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
Bridge
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour
Be God's!
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