Stepping Out of the Boat

Matthew 14:22-33 - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. 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. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

I'm a planner by nature. I want to know exactly what will be happening in my life 10 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 6 days from now. Over the past several years, I have learned how vastly different my plans often are from God's. Anyone who knew me ten years ago would have never imagined that I would be a stay-at-home mom of three kids. I was completely focused on becoming a veterinarian (who would probably be a workaholic) with a maximum of one child. I had no interest in cooking, cleaning, all things crafty, or anything related to homemaking. Now I do all of those things on a daily basis and my life is much more complete than it ever would have been if I had followed my own plans.

God obviously knows how stubborn I am, so on multiple occasions He hasn't just asked me to step out of the boat, He's flipped the boat over for me. Every time I think I've got things figured out and start planning the future, He steps in and rocks my world. And every time, I'm forced to pull my focus back onto Him and allow Him to guide me to places I never even imagined.

How many times have you heard the story of Peter walking on water and thought how amazing it would be to have that kind of faith? It's easy to sit in the boat and claim that you have complete trust, but how quickly that faith is tested once you are thrown out into the stormy seas. Too many people sit securely in the boat thinking that their faith is strong when in reality they are too scared to step out of the boat and obey Christ. We are called to do impossible things and the only way to accomplish His will is to keep our focus on Jesus and let Him take care of the details.

Have you stepped out of the boat or are you still waiting for more directions?