Thinking
Outside the “Boat”!
By Karen D’Amore
When the disciples
saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said,
and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be
afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter
replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,”
He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on
the water and came toward Jesus.
Matthew 14: 26-29
(NIV)
Jesus
was stretching the disciples to exercise their faith in Him, for when He would no
longer be with them…physically. Peter responds by exercising, what some may call…
“reckless” abandoned faith! In my
personal faith-walk, I recall wavering between doubt and trust, before
recognizing that abandoned faith “colors outside the lines” and “thinks outside
the box!” Here we see Jesus modeling “out of the box” behavior when, instead of
arriving by boat, He reconnects with the disciples by walking on water. This
unexpected method of arrival frightened the disciples, drawing them to question
who Jesus was… thinking He was a ghost.
When
I walked through a personal storm with cancer, I struggled to recognize God’s
presence in it. Praying God would stop that storm, I found fear erupted when He
didn’t. But like Peter, once I exercised faith and stepped out of the boat, I
was able to walk on water…with Jesus. Through that experience, I learned
that when Jesus doesn’t calm the storm, He’s calling us to walk in it…with Him!
While
the other disciples remained in the safety of the boat, Peter steps out of his
“comfort zone” and experiences the miracle of walking on water. Thinking
outside the boat requires stepping out of our comfort zone…walking towards
Jesus and trusting in His power. We must then continue that walk of faith
by keeping our eyes on Jesus…instead of focusing on the stormy circumstances.
Peter demonstrates how to conquer our fears by moving forward in
faith…even when we’re afraid.
It’s
encouraging how Jesus used the obstacle which made the disciples fearful (the
sea) as a staircase for them to come to Him. Paralyzing fear was my initial
response to my cancer diagnosis! When I stopped resisting that “storm” and
allowed Jesus to rescue me and carry me through those rough waters, He became
my anchor of hope. The obstacle which incited fear (cancer) and distanced me
from Jesus became the staircase which drew me closer and strengthened my faith
in Him.
We’re
promised, “When you pass
through the waters, I will be with
you” (Isaiah 43:2, NASB, emphasis added). Faith
requires stepping out of the comfort of our “boats”…into the storm. It entails
thinking outside the “boat” where the impossible becomes…Him-possible!
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Are you docked in a safe harbor or walking on water?
FURTHER READING:
Married
to Dan, Karen, a retired police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at
Craig Berns Salon and Pedicurist at Shorehaven Senior Facility. She’s on the
Oakwood Women’s Ministry Special Events planning team.
