Water-Walkers Expect Problems

So Peter goes to the side of the boat. The other disciples are watching closely. They have seen Peter shoot off his mouth before - a lot. They wonder how far he'll take this thing.

He puts one foot over the side, carefully gripping the edge of the boat. Then the other foot. He's holding on with grom determination and white knuckles.

Then he does something religious - he lets go. He abandons himself utterly to the power of Jesus. And suddenly, for the first time in history, an ordinary human being is walking on the water.

Like master, like disciple.

Then it happens. Peter "saw the wind."

He realized he was on the water in the middle of a storm with no boat beneath him - and he was terrified. The storm should have come as no suprise - it's been there all along. Peter's focus has shifted from the Savior to the storm.

Because of the wind, some people decide never to leave the boat. If you get out of the boat, you will face the wind and the storm out there. But you might as well know now, there is no guarantee that life in the boat is going to be any safer.

If you step up to the plate, you may strike out. The greatest hitters in the world fail two times out of three.

But if you don't step up to the plate, you will never know the glory of what it is to hit a home run. There is danger in getting out of the boat. But there is danger in staying in it as well. If you live in boat - whatever your boat happens to be - you will eventually die of boredom and stagnation. Everything is risky.

--- from the book:

Water-Walkers Get Out of the Boat

It would be tough enough to try to walk on the water when the water is calm, the sun is bright, and the air is still. Imagine trying to do it when the waves are crashing, the wind is at gale force, and it's three o'clock in the morning - and you're terrified.

Put yourself in Peter's place for a moment. Jesus is inviting you to go on the adventure of your life. But at the same time, you're scared to death. What would you choose - the water or the boat?

The boat is safe, secure, and comfortable.

On the other hand, the water is rough. The waves are high. The wind is strong. There's a storm out there. And if you get out of the boat - whatever your boat might happen to be - there's a good chance you might sink.

"If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat."
I believe there is something - Someone - inside us who tells us there is more to life than sitting in the boat. You were made for something more than merely avoiding failure. There is something inside you that wants to walk on water - to leave the comfort of routine existence and abandon yourself to the high adventure of following God.

What is your boat? Your boat is whatever represents safety and security to you apart from God himself. Your boat is whatever you are tempted to put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy. Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don't want to give it up even if it's keeping you from joining Jesus on the waves. Your boat is whatever pulls you away from the high adventure of extreme discipleship.

Want to know what is your boat? Your fear will tell you. Just ask yourself this: WHAT IS IT THE MOST PRODUCES FEAR IN ME - ESPECIALLY WHEN I THINK OF LEAVING IT BEHIND AND STEPPING OUT IN FAITH?

What is your boat? In what area of your life are you shrinking back from fully and courageously trusting God? Fear will tell you what your boat is. Leaving it may be the hardest thing you ever do.

" But if you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat."

--- from the book:

Water-Walkers Discern Between Faith and Foolishness

Peter blurted out to the water-walker, "If it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

This is not just a story about risk-taking; it is primarily a story about obedience. That means i will have to discern between an authentic call from God and what might simply be a foolish impulse on my part. Courage alone is not enough; it must be accompanied by wisdom and discernment.

Water-walking is not something Peter does for recreational purposes. It's about extreme discipleship. This means that before Peter gets out of the boat, he had better make sure Jesus thinks it's a good idea. So he asks for a clarity, "If it is you, command me..."

And in the darkness, I think Jesus smiled. Maybe he laughed. Because one person in the boat got it. Peter had some inkling of what it is that the Master is doing. Not only that, Peter had enough faith to believe that he too could share the adventure. He decided he wanted to be part of history's original water-walk. Command me.

--- from the book:

Water-Walkers Recognize God's Presence

Peter and friends got into a little boat one afternoon to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus wanted to be alone, so they were boating without him.

But this time a storm blew in. It was so violent that the only thing the disciples could do was to keep the boat upright.

Then one of the disciples noticed a shadow moving toward them on the water. As it got closer, it became apparent that it was the figure of a human being - walking on water.

They didn't fully grasp it yet, but God was visiting them in the water-walking flesh.


Those divinely appointed defining moments will come to you and me. He still ask his followers to do extraordinary thing. And if you're not looking for him, you just might miss him.

--- from the book:

On Water-Walking

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena...who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place will never be with those cold timid mind souls who knows neither victory or defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt

--- from the book:
IF YOU WANT TO WALK ON WATER, YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT
by JOHN ORTBERG