STEP-OUT

So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus – Matthew 14:29

God is greatly interested in your Steps in Life; and He has entrusted you with much grace to do His Will. At various times, He could call and motivate you to step-out, step-on, step-in or step-up.

In today’s scripture text, Jesus had just fed the five thousand miraculously, and on dismissing the crowd, He decided to walk on water to get to the boat to meet His disciples. His walking on the water, though a supernatural phenomeon, appears not to be the focus of the story. Much more striking was Peter’s audacity of faith when he excitedly called out to Jesus: “...”Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (v.28b). Jesus, looking at him, called Peter forward with One Word, “Come”! Beyond any of the other disciples, Peter was willing to step-out on the Word; to step-out on faith; to do something that was out of the ordinary; to take a risk on Christ’s command. He was ready to risk the odds of failing, falling or sinking. God often calls us to step out of our comfort zones and attempt the impossible for Him!

This was an outstanding example of stepping out on faith. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and wanted to give it a try. He demonstrated enough faith to believe that if Jesus could walk on water, and would personally command him to come; he would be capable of doing so. He got out of the boat of doubt and fear, and walked to Jesus. Whoever truly desires to follow Jesus must be willing at His bidding to step-out on faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb.11:6a). The Believer in Christ is created to be a Risk-taker rather than safety-seeker. But the stepping-out must become a “follow through”! You can stand up and proclaim your passion to walk in the way of the Lord, to walk by faith and not by sight, or to walk in the Spirit. You can even step out of the boat at His command, but then what? Where’s your follow through?

Peter wanted so passionately to follow the Lord, but soon learnt that this doesn’t imply that there will not be danger or risk involved. He expected circumstances to seamlessly support his decision to step out with Jesus onto the sea – the symbol of life’s complexities. So, when the boisterous winds began to blow, he got scared and began to sink. The Step-out seemed simple; it was the follow-through that gave Peter real trouble. It’s usually the same follow-through that shakes our faith-walk. Just as Peter displayed rare boldness to step-out, we also must show such courage in our daily lives. Abraham, the Father of Faith stepped-out of Ur of the Chaldeans, in obedience to God’s call and command, to a land that God would show him (Gen.12:1-4). What risk of faith is God asking you to take in this season of your life? How are you responding to His “Come”?

Moments to step-out are bound to come up during the course of our sojourn on earth. We can desire to be called by the Lord into new experiences, higher responsibilities, and next-level encounters and must respond to such calls willingly. But the lesson from Peter’s story goes beyond these: the call and the response must be followed through all the Way. Jesus pointed this out to Peter by scolding him for his doubt and fear. Despite the scolding however, we also learn that when we get scared or lose some faith, we are not alone. As Jesus reached out His hand to rescue Peter from the stormy waters, so does He reach out for us in our times of need, our seasons of doubt, and our moments of fear. There is a Helping Hand, ready to help us when our strength seems to sink. His Presence makes the difference! As you allow the Lord to motivate you to step-out on faith – and walk on the platform of His Word – you’ll experience the reality of His Presence, that: You are Never Alone!