It only takes a little faith us to get out of the boat and trust Jesus to keep us afloat. We want to stay in the safety of the boat where everything is familiar. We want to experience smooth sailing with no waves or winds. However, there is a little seed of faith inside which tells us there is so much more to life what we have known. We are certain that we have a destiny to fulfill. We know it starts with a single step…out of the comfort zone and into the unknown.
We take a deep breath, whisper, “It is finished!” to our fear of change and take that first shaky step toward the sound of His voice.
Name a time when you took a risk and moved forward despite the presence of natural fear?
One of the men in the boat, named Peter, asked Jesus to let him come out and walk on the water alongside Him. Jesus said, “Sure! Come on out.” Peter lunged toward the side of the boat as it was rocking and lurching. Then, climbed cautiously over the edge, he slowly lowered his weight onto the swirling liquid. If Jesus was a fraud, the next few seconds would have been the moment of truth. In former miracles, the people who were healed and delivered could have been in cahoots with Him on some elaborate hoax. However, walking on top of water, and inviting another human being to join Him would have been impossible to pull off, if it had been a scam.
Peter got out of the boat and walked toward Jesus. Some may hold to the impression that Peter took a couple of wobbly steps before going under. We do not agree with that conclusion. We believe he strolled quite a distance. Since Jesus’ closest companions failed to recognize Him, we assume He was more than several yards from the boat. With one lunge over the side of the boat, Peter took the walk of a lifetime: a walk to remember.
There were 11 other men in the boat who didn’t even ask if they could come out onto the water. Only Peter was impulsive enough to come up with such a wild idea! Whether he was completely successful in his faith walk or not, he was the only one with the audacity to ask if he could get out of the boat. He was the one who believed in Jesus’ ability to empower him to do it. He knew that in the midst of the storm, the safest place to be was with Jesus.