Out of the Boat!

by Fay Barlow
(Lexington, Sc USA)

Matthew 14: 25-32
Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Picture this: You hear about a ministry just starting up that has your name written all over it. It is so you. It involves your strengths and it gets your heart pumping with excitement to think that you could be a part of such a work of God. In fact, you have been praying about this very type of opportunity and you can’t believe that this is really happening.

So you beat the crowds to the sign up table or accost the person in charge of the ministry and pour out your passion and your own personal vision of the ministry. The quiet man in charge smiles gingerly, knowing you personally and knowing that you have the heart and soul for just this assignment.

As he encourages you toward the ministry, he also points out some of the challenges you might face along the way. But you know for a fact that you see Jesus straight ahead in this task and you are asking him the same question Peter asked. “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on this water.” And so the journey begins.

As the ministry gets going, you see the goal ahead of you and you step out from the safety of the boat, which is your comfort zone, and as you take your first step into unchartered waters, the excitement within you is exhilarating. You want to give a loud shout as if at a sporting event and your team just scored the winning touchdown. You are on top of the world, ministry wise. You see Jesus so clearly, so radiant and so glorified ahead of you.

The next few steps into the ministry are good. No, Great! You’re still pumped and can’t help but tell everyone you know what is going on in your heart.

But, you glance back at the boat or in this case, your comfort zone. You feel a twinge in your heart, but you ignore it as you turn your eyes back to the goal. For the first time you look down and see the cool water lapping over your feet but, you still feel secure in your position. You bring your eyes up to look into the face of Jesus and as you look at Him, you notice that He is not as brilliant as before. Uncomfortableness sets in.

As you walk closer and closer to the Lord, the winds of responsibility blow past you. The challenges of ministry spray cold water against your skin, and for the first time, you begin to think about your comfort zone. And for the first time, you begin to question your decision to enter into this ministry.

Questions whirl around in your head as you glance behind you where your zone is almost completely unseen. You turn and look hard towards Jesus but his face seems to be fading. The brilliance has diminished and you wonder if He is truly there or if it was just your imagination.

A cold bite of water rushes to your brain to tell your body that your knees are no long visible. They have sunk into the water.

The wind blows harsher, your comfort zone is blackened, Jesus’ face is almost transparent and the ministry that once pumped blood into your veins seems to be weighting you and dragging you under.

You cry out, “Lord, save me!”

You feel a strong hand grasp at your forearm and pull you up to safety. “Who could have come that quickly?” you ask. You look to see it is Jesus. He was right there. You were so close to Him, He didn’t have to move an inch to grab you and pull you to safety.

Peter and I are so much alike. We have the grandest of intentions when it comes to the things of God. We are wholehearted and ready to jump at an opportunity to bring glory to God and ministry to others. We start out well. but don’t always finish well.

My comfort zone keeps calling me back to itself. The realities of ministry sets in and I question whether this is truly from God. I get distracted by outside influences that toss me into areas of doubt. I even question whether it is God who is in the midst of this journey or just my over active imagination. And I begin to sink. I let me gaze divert from the goal of knowing Christ more, to the comfort of my zone.

And Jesus puts the same question to me as He did to Peter. “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Why did I doubt? Why is my faith so small at times? Why do I not jump from the boat and run head long into the arms of Jesus, forgetting what is behind me and pressing on toward the goal?

All very good questions, with no real good answers!

The cool thing is that Jesus keeps calling us out the boat. Sometimes, out of the same boat!