Stepping Out of the Boat

Our theme for the morning worship gathering was Peter walking on water, a story in which I am deeply familiar. Lindsay our oldest daughter picked a couple of songs to sing and we spent a little time in fellowship. As I began to teach, the Lord spoke so clearly to me that I was compelled to share the thoughts with you. It appears that our greatest fear in reaching out to others with the good news about Jesus may not be the message about Jesus but rather the fear of getting out of the boat and letting go of the side.

Peter was a courageous man or maybe to the other disciples a bit crazy. Compulsive as he was, he was willing to step out and do things that the other disciples were only able to watch. Imagine being in the boat with Peter and all of a sudden Peter steps out of a floating boat during a storm. That first step must have been mind numbing. Which wave to step on? How to keep your balance? Which part of the boat to get out of? When to let go of the side of the boat after your feet touch the water? All those things come to mind, yet Peter stepped over the side and let go!

I think it may be that way when it comes to sharing Christ with others. We worry so much about the details of how, when, who, and what to say, that we never get our bodies over the side of the boat and allow Jesus to do the miracle of salvation. We may have less to do with bringing others to Jesus than we think. It may be that we just need to get over the side and let go of our security. We need to let Jesus do the miracle in the person’s life. We need to just take courage and know that Jesus is who He says He is.

At the end of the story Jesus shared wisdom with Peter. These words continue to ring in my ears… Take Courage! We must take courage if we are going to let go of the side of the boat! We must trust that Jesus is able to do the miracle of salvation. We must exercise our faith in Jesus. He will work in the heart and soul of a person. We are responsible to plant a seed of spiritual distraction, distracting individuals from their mundane life and replacing in their hearts a question about what a life with Jesus would look like. Jesus Christ is right here right now. He is able to save, comfort, care, and guide. Let’s all get out of the boat and let go of the side! I need to let Jesus do the miracles, and I need to take courage!