Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” ~Matthew 14:22-33
For the past 3
days I have found myself encountering the passage of Jesus walking on water and
Peters faith and fear to get out of the boat. In the midst of studying this
passage and looking at my life, I have found myself relating to Peter and where
God has brought me and is taking me. When I look at the journey that I am
currently on, I realize that Jesus called me to step out on the water and into
a life of ministry however, the journey is not finished.
I look back on the journey I am
currently on and I realize that it took an act of faith and stepping out on the
water to leave my family, my home, my friends, and ultimately my everything to
move to Texas where I knew anyone. I didn't know what to expect but God said to
go and He put me where I am. With every new step of faith and obedience to
where God is calling me, there comes a new time where He will call me to go
further and not be stagnant with where I am. He calls me to face my fears and
to continually look to Him rather than the obstacles around me since when I see
the waves crashing against me or even the first sign of them forming, I get
scared and question, why am I here and am I on the right path?
Being a young adult missionary, I
have questioned where I am at many times yet when I remind myself to look to
God, He directs me back to taking heart in Him and where He has me.
While the lake may at times be calm,
there will be times that the waves will be forming and we will want to run. We
will find ourselves back where we started and always wondering, what's on the
other side? I find myself there right now. I love the work I do and I feel lead
to go to seminary but when I look at all the circumstances and what it will
take to get there, I find myself questioning everything. I want to run yet
I constantly wonder, what's on the other side and where is God taking me.
The only answer and way to find out
is to get out of the boat I am currently in and walk in the water and take the
journey to get to the other side. It won't always be easy but God reminds us to
take heart in Him and trust Him in the journey!
“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out
into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ~Luke 5:4
Jesus calls us to a place of growth,
risk, and uncomfortable. Putting out into the deep water and then getting out
of the water is risky, we find ourselves in a place where we have no control
but it’s then that we will grow. We need to make Jesus’ thing our thing and
follow His guidance to the other side.
