Walking On Water

Walking on Water

I am still surprised, Lord, when you call me to walk on the water to you.  What did it mean to Peter?  Exactly what you told him it would mean: "Take courage!  I AM; stop being afraid!" (Matthew 14:27).   Stop being afraid? How often, Jesus, do you lead me into situations where my entire perspective needs to shift so I will stop being afraid?  Maybe none are as dramatic as walking on the water during a storm.  But frightening situations nevertheless.  For the important thing about not being afraid is WHO is saying it to me!  And the situations I have faced in the past where I hear your voice most clearly, are the ones where you have altered the foundation of my perspective.  Peter's perspective was about to become the rock upon which you built the Church. 

Peter was able to lead the early church with your perspective because he was willing to walk where it was impossible to walk.  And he believed that he could walk on water because of his intimate relationship to Jesus Christ.  The walking on water scene created a pattern for Peter's faith.  If Jesus tells me to come to him, even when I'm afraid, I am to walk. . . Peter started to sink when he focused on what he was doing rather than to whom he was walking.

I need to remind myself that all of God's initiatives towards me are expressions to show me his nature.  That's why I need to walk on the water when he calls my name.  Watching someone else walk on water can inspire me but it doesn't increase my faith inwardly.   As a leader, I need experiences with Jesus where I can hear him calling me to walk on the water: a place where our communion is so real, I no longer need to rely on my own devices.  Just one word from Him, "Take courage, it's Me! Stop being afraid," calms the wind, settles the waves, ceases the rocking of the boat.  

Psalm 25:14 "The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them."