Get Out Of That Boat

As each day has it's own challenges and some that tag along from the day or even several days before...the goal is to seek Christ and bring Him glory.  Right?  As I'm talking with my children, pointing them like little arrows to the One that they should model their lives like, it seems only obvious that I should be doing the same.  Sometimes The Lord comes and just smacks you between the eyes with a reality check.  Sometimes He calls us to tread places that we really never intended or even wanted to go.  What do we do when He calls us to get out of the boat, to step out in faith?  We can be as arrogant as to say that We do get out of the boat!  Think about it...There's a storm, the waves are high, you question whether you'll even make out of that boat, if you'll ever step on dry land again,  if you'll even live to tell of how fierce the storm was or how scared you were.  And all of the sudden, in the darkness, walking on the waves you see someone, walking in your direction.  Ok, so this would be completely alarming, to say the least.  At this moment, you're fearing for your life, holding on with all you've got, maybe screaming and praying that the storm will pass.  Seeing someone coming towards you, knowing that you're several miles from the shore is unthinkable.  It's real easy to judge Peter here.  We can all think that when we're challenged that we would be so tough.  I think Peter's response below is so natural and so applicable to our lives today.  

1. 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.  Matthew 14:22-33

Peter didn't pull up the weather app on his smart phone that day to check the weather before he went out on that boat with his buddies.  He didn't look at his calendar to see if he had anything pressing to do.  The next step could have only been taken by faith.  At the call of the Lord, Peter then got out of the boat and stood on the water!  Did y'all hear that?!  This simple, ordinary man literally stood on water and even walked!  He wasn't just a hearer of The Word but he was also a do-er.  James 1:22  But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  

How often do we tell God, I'm just too busy, I'm afraid, I don't know how, I'm not good enough, I need to study more, I need to know more about the Bible, I'm not smart enough, I'll do it tomorrow?  In saying all of these things, aren't we a bit like Peter, focusing on our own strengths?  When Peter took his eyes off The Lord and got distracted by the things around him he realized that he was inadequate, he began to sink.  Aren't we just the same?  When we say we can't, isn't it utter disobedience or have we taken our eyes off of The One that is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us? (Ephesians 3:20)  If we do what we "think" we can do then we'll accomplish very little.  What if we walked by faith?  What if we heard that still, small voice inside us and we actually responded?  

What incredible blessings might await if we actually set our eyes on Christ and got out of the boat?  You'll never know unless you try!