“Come!” said Jesus to Peter as he straddled the boat and dipped his foot in the cold waves. Peter wasn’t about to sit in the boat when Jesus was having all the fun. If he could walk on water, so could Peter. While the other guys were saying, “You’re fish bait”, Peter was saying, “What a story I’ll have to tell! What an adventure!”
So Peter jumped from the boat with visions of his name on the front page of the Jerusalem Post. All went well until he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Suddenly he wished he didn’t have an audience. He could hear their guffaws in the background.
He didn’t become an expert at a walk on the lake, but Peter still holds the record for the only mere mortal to ever to walk on the stuff, all because he saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and heard the laughter of the Master, while the other disciples couldn’t hear beyond the wind or see beyond the waves.
What adventures do you long to do? Climb a mountain? Write a book? Travel to an exotic location? Close your ears to the waves of discouragement, the winds of “No, it can’t be done.” Listen close for Jesus’ laughter and you’ll hear Him calling "Come!"
He stands on the impossible, grins, and waits for us to join him. He loves to have fun – why else would He walk on the water? He could have done the front crawl all the way across the Sea and that would have been miraculous enough.
Peter never forgot that evening on the water. While Peter made history and had the time of his life, Jesus taught him to trust, to keep his eyes on Him, and most of all, to recognize the voice of God.
God has treasures for us too that are only received by peeling our white knuckled hands off the edge of the boat and stepping out towards his voice. Moving away from the warm arms of security forces us to grow.
We’ve been rowing long enough. Jesus is laughing. Let’s go.
(Just one thing - take a friend from the boat so she won’t laugh behind your back!)
My granddaughter took me to a Lululemon store this week and convinced me to buy a pair of their terribly comfortable, terribly expensive yoga pants. While I love them, I really like the store bag I took them home in... because it is covered with words and sayings!
ReplyDeleteThe one that caught my eye first (This was weeks ago, when I saw another person carrying this "where did that come from" bag) was this: "Do something every day that scares you."
Now you are saying the same thing! Thank you... from someone whose knuckles are often white!
I need some encouragement like this. Thank you, Pam. Letting go of the boat takes faith and determination.
ReplyDeleteHa, Ha! My knuckles are often white, too, Elsie! I like it too much in my little boat.
ReplyDeletePam