“Safety In The Boat?”

I have been thinking a lot about the risk involved in getting out of the boat and going for something in faith with God. Everything in me says that I will be better off following after God than I would ever be staying where I am at! Where I am, in the safety of the boat, will never achieve what I am called to or what I desire or even the impact that God wants my life to have. I have thought: "Lord, what about when the wind and waves come?" My thought being, that in the safety of the boat I will be protected… Then I thought about Peter, when he took the risk to get out of the boat. Peter only began to sink when he lost his focus on Jesus. The most interesting part of Peter's experience to me is that the wind and the waves were affecting both those in the boat and Peter. Who was more safe; those in the boat or Peter? Those in the boat most likely were not too comfortable with being tossed about, maybe not sure how bad the storm would get before it passed. Peter seems unbothered by the storm when his focus was on Jesus and even when he saw the wind and waves and was shaken, beginning to sink, he was able to cry out and Jesus helped him. Really the safest place appears to be out of the boat with Jesus!

Why do we hesitate to trust Him and get out of the boat when He calls? Why do we think that staying in the boat will be safe? The safety of the boat is an illusion! The safest, strongest place is out on the water with Jesus! I am called to a life of faith and that has corresponding actions. How long do I talk about doing something great for God? I look back at the truth in the Bible and I see how time and time again God did things through His people that defied human logic and turned things around with amazing reversal. Why do we not trust Him to show up like that in our daily lives? Is not God the same yesterday, today and forever? He is the God that parted the Red Sea for His people to cross over. He is the one that had Noah do things that made no sense to any human being at the time, yet it was the "water walk" that Noah was called to. God is the God of miracles and I do believe that to be true and I long for my life to line up with that truth… God has shown Himself trustworthy time and time again, not only in the Bible but in my life. I, for one, am getting out of the boat to walk with my almighty, trustworthy, faithful Lord and I can hardly wait to see what He does next!