Out of the Boat - Tuesday 29 May 07

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:28-31 NIV
The voice on the phone said ‘You have to look beyond your own understanding; you have to get out of the boat. Your senses tell you that the water cannot support you and you don’t believe God can change your life if you don’t do it yourself but He can and He will.’
I had rung up for support; as well as that I got food for thought and a concept that was life changing.

It comes to us all, this moment, as it came to Peter the disciple in the heaving boat with the wind and waves lashing around him. He was probably in his element, not the first time he’d been out in a boat in a storm, so he knew exactly what to do. But then something happened that changed his whole life.
Suddenly he was being prompted to step right out of his comfort zone into the apparently impossible.

All of us eventually will have an experience which we cannot handle. It is beyond our knowledge and ability. It could be an illness or disability, either our own or someone close to us. It could be a situation which is out of our hands but still affects us deeply, an addiction or an injustice. Or it could be that we need to step out in faith because God is calling us to something beyond our own ability.

We sing songs about God being a great big God, and we sort of believe that, but when it comes to acting on it we want to rush back and lean on our own understanding again. We know where we are in the boat, we know the ropes but when it comes to trusting God completely…well that is another thing entirely because first of all we have to admit that we cannot do this and then we have to believe that God can.

And once we are out there it is easy to get overwhelmed by the circumstances once again, Peter did and Jesus was there to take his hand and lead him back.
Jesus is there for us too and will not ever let us sink. Why do we doubt?

Is there a boat of your own understanding that you need to climb out of?

Lord, help us to see you as you are, and trust you with our lives. Amen

The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, "This is it! You are God's Son for sure!" Matthew 13:32-33 The Message