I love Peter. He is one of the coolest dudes in the New Testament, besides Jesus, of course! I’m a lot like Peter. I see Jesus walking on water, and I’m mesmerized. My eyes are fixed on Him, and I beg Him to call me into the waves. When Jesus finally calls me out of my safe boat, I jump into the water and take off running. About 10 seconds into my full-on sprint, I second guess myself and get distracted.
I see big waves all around me, I feel water spray hitting my face and I hear the wind angrily howling for me to stop (little bit ‘o spiritual warfare). My pace starts to slow down, and I think, “What the heck are you doing, Alisa? You can’t walk on water! You’re going to drown!” aaaannd . . . KERPLUNK! SPLASH! I fall into the water and go into “save my own skin” mode.
As I’m gulping water and gasping for air, Jesus comes to me calmly, picks me up, smiles and says, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”
I look up at Jesus and sheepishly say, “Well, at least I got out of the boat! The scardy-cat Eleven are white-knuckling the edge — safe as can be!”
Jesus sighs, smiles again (’cause He loves me) and carries me (on water) back to the boat. He knows I’m not perfect, but I’m trying.
Are you trying?
Are you sitting in the boat or are you begging for Jesus to tell you it’s time to come out? I don’t think Jesus was disappointed because Peter jumped out of the boat and sank. I think Jesus knew how much Peter was capable of accomplishing, but Peter didn’t trust himself or Jesus.
Jesus knows our potential because He put it there. We’ve just got to trust Him.
Don’t be scared to jump out of the boat for Jesus. He wouldn’t tell you to jump if He knew you would sink. Not only does Jesus believe you can walk on water, He believes you can run up waves, backflip off whitecaps and do a victory dance all the way back to the boat. Why? Because that’s God promise to you! God says that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4.13).
This promise is what distinguishes us from the rest of the world. Christians should be doing the most crazy, amazing things and the world should be gawking! We shouldn’t be known for our self-righteousness or our judgmentalness. We should be known for our amazing feats, our love for others and our love for God.
Don’t be scared! God has all the cosmos in His hand; I’m pretty sure He can handle your little (but important) life. And wherever you fail, God will slip in His grace. God’s grace fills in all the cracks of our imperfections. His grace mixed with our obedience is an extremely beautiful and powerful thing.
Be obedient today and jump out of your safe boat. Overcome your fear and prepare yourself for the ride of your life!
What has God been telling you to “jump into”? Are you holding onto the edge of the boat, thrashing around in the water, timidly walking toward Jesus or showing off for God with your backflips?
*This post is dedicated to my twin sister — JUST JUMP!
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