If You Want To Walk On Water, You Gotta Get Out Of The Boat! Series

Matthew 14:22-33

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you and call us to action, our Creator and Sustainer.

In today’s gospel of Matthew it was pointed out that the wind was very strong and the waves were very high, but Peter did not notice them at first. In his excitement at recognizing his Lord he stepped out of the boat and walked on the water. When he realized what he was actually doing and he instantly sank. Glub! Glub!

Did Peter sink because he didn’t have enough faith as Jesus accused him when he said

‘oh, ye of little faith’? (Matthew 14:31)

I don’t think so.

The first thing I think is important to clear up is that, at least to me, "faith" or "belief" doesn't mean belief in an expected outcome, but rather trust in another person. Believing in Jesus does not mean believing that we'll be "successful" (however we define that!) in whatever it is that Jesus is calling us to do. Nor does having faith IN Jesus imply blithely signing off on a list of statements ABOUT Jesus, His teachings, His examples, and His call to us. Having faith in Jesus means a willingness to follow Jesus. To have faith isn't an activity of the brain so much as a feeling of the heart. In other words, faith is about doing. A faithful person eventually gets to the point where they can say to God, "I don't know where you're going, but I know that wherever it is, I'd rather be drowning with you than anywhere else." In my own life, that kind of trust in Jesus comes from knowing Jesus. The kind of trust I have in Jesus has come as I've experienced Jesus' generosity and mercy. That process of building confidence, of getting to know Jesus so deeply that I can trust Jesus, is part of what I call the “journey of faith”.

When I say that faith is ‘doing’, what I mean is that I believe faith begins with action, with taking a step, with taking a risk. The best intentions in the world don't do much without action, but taking that step, even with mixed or unclear intentions, or sometimes great fear, just might give you the experience of meeting God on the road, in a dark valley, or at sea.

So, if you want to walk on water, you gotta get out of the boat!.

But there is a lot of risk in doing so.

Water Walkers Will Face Storms

When you are serving God, and trying to be obedient to Christ, you will have to face storms of trials and difficulties. Even as you sit here today, you may be going through a personal storm. And in almost every instance, it is hard to see God’s hand and love as you weather those storms. Maybe it’s financial problems, or problems in a relationship; you might be having family problems, or problems at your job or school. We all have storms in our lives. Anyone who tells you that leading a true Christian life is smooth sailing - that life is easy or your worries disappear - doesn’t understand what the Bible teaches about serving the Lord. 2 Timothy 3:12 says,

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Remember, the disciples were in a storm because they were trying to be obedient to Jesus. Matthew 14:22 says

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side.

And they did, or at least they tried to. And many hours later they hadn’t made much progress. So, remember, obedient water walkers will face storms.

Water Walkers Recognize God’s Presence

Jesus wanted to be alone to pray, so He sent the disciples ahead without him. To them it was no big deal – they used boats for fishing on a daily basis. But this huge storm blew in – bigger than most storms. Matthew says that the boat was battered by the waves (Matthew 14:24). The storm was so violent that the disciples could barely keep the boat upright.

I can imagine that they wished the sides of the boat were a little higher and the wood a little thicker. Deep in the night, the storm was getting really bad. I can imagine that at that point they weren’t worried about making it to the other side – they just wanted to stay alive. The disciples were in great fear and deep distress. It is about this time that Jesus decided to come toward them.

It’s interesting - Jesus wasn’t in a boat and the disciples didn’t recognize him. The disciples were convinced he was a ghost, so they were terrified and cried out in fear. But Matthew wanted us to know that sometimes it is only with the eyes of faith that we can fully recognize when Jesus is present.