Around three in the morning He came to them walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified.  “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.

Immediately Jesus spoke to them.  “Have courage!  It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s You,”  Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.”

“Come!”  He said.

And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid.  And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Matthew 14:25-31 HCSB

As a people watcher, the thing that breaks my heart the most is to see someone without faith.  You see without faith we are stuck in a rut.  We can spin our wheels but we are going nowhere.  We can step out of the boat, but without faith we sink like a stone.  So many people never accomplish half of the things they could accomplish because of their lack of faith.

Sometimes we are called upon to step out of the boat.  Sometimes we are required to have great faith in order to accomplish the task before us.  In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 is titled “Heroes of Faith”.  It speaks of the great faith of Abraham who brought his son Isaac up on a mountain to sacrifice Him to the Lord.  At the last minute God provided a ram for the sacrifice.  When Noah built the ark, he was ridiculed for doing such a thing in a land that only saw small amounts of rain. He then had to refuse to allow the rest of the world to board his ark, because God wanted them condemned.  These men stepped out on faith.  God told them to do something and they did it regardless of their personal feelings, regardless of what those around them said about it, they did it.  They were greatly rewarded for their faith.

Peter was willing to step out of the comfort and safety of that boat onto a stormy sea.  Peter stepped out in faith, but he lost faith along the way.  Without Jesus’ help he would have drowned.  Often times God calls us to do something that is outside of our comfort zone.  He calls on us to do something when we don’t even know where to start.  This blog is a prime example.

Three years ago, I walked a very stormy sea with my sister.  We walked in faith, we trusted God and He brought us safely to dry land. In the midst of that battle, I realized that God was calling me to do a blog.  I wasn’t even sure what a blog was.  I am probably one of the most computer illiterate people walking this planet.  And God called me to do a blog.  He really does have a sense of humor.  I didn’t even know where to begin. I was told that I would need to begin by getting my own website.  I was told that people charge over a thousand dollars to build a website plus you had to pay for the name and a host of other maintenance expenses.  I procrastinated for about six months and he put someone in my path, literally, that builds websites.  Imagine that.  This person agreed to build my website at no cost so that I could get my blog started.  Now God had already worked out so many things for me and my sister in the battle that we faced and now he was doing it again with this blog.  He just needed me to step out of the boat, he had already arranged for me to walk on the water.

There were years in my life when I didn’t hear God calling me to do anything.  I can tell you that it was because I wasn’t listening.  I was not in close relationship with Him and I was living a self-centered, “all about me” kind of life.  When I drew into a close relationship with God, I could hear his instruction.  When I followed his instructions, I was greatly rewarded. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I could see the pattern.

I could see that when I stayed in close relationship with Him and did what He told me to do, I had peace and joy that reached far beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:7).  Now, if you have taken the time to read this, I want you to understand that you can have the same.  Not only can you have peace and understanding, but you can successfully do whatever it is that He has called you to do.

Take a lesson from Peter’s experience.  First, like Peter, don’t be afraid to step out of the boat.  Secondly, even if the storm is raging around you, don’t lose faith.  Know that God’s got this and He’s got you.  Stay in constant prayer with Him and boldly walk out onto the water.  Know that anything God calls you to do, He will equip you to do.  Step out there, He will not let you fall.

Have a great day!