Get Your Feet Wet

Many of you probably took swimming lessons as a child. I think back to my childhood and remember getting badges when I passed certain swimming levels. I went from Tadpole to Polliwog to Guppy and finally to Minnow. I learned basic water safety, how to hold my breath under water, how to tread water, kick my legs, float on my back, and swim basic strokes. The last two summers our oldest granddaughter has taken swimming lessons. Her lessons are very different than the lessons I remember taking, but in both cases we learned valuable water safety skills.

One of our previous homes had a backyard swimming pool. On numerous occasions I tried to walk across the pool on top of the water, but the result was always the same. After one or two steps, I found myself under the water and in need of using the techniques I learned in those swimming lessons.

Is it even possible to walk on the water? Today I want to look at a story in which what seems humanly impossible to us is possible when we obey Jesus. This story is found in Matthew 14:22-33.

Jesus and His disciples had just feed more than 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and some small fish. After that miracle Jesus dismissed the crowd, sent His disciples to the other side of the lake, and He found a quiet place to pray. While crossing the lake the disciples encountered a storm and all night, they fought strong winds and rough seas, and by the wee hours of the morning they were only part way across the lake. In the darkness Jesus decided to join the disciples and He walked out to them on the lake. When the disciples saw Him, they got scared, thinking it was a ghost. Jesus tells the disciples to not be afraid.

We now pick up the story in verse 28. Peter calls out and says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus responds and tells Peter to “Come” and Peter musters up courage, gets out of the boat, and starts toward Jesus, walking on the water. But when he saw the wind, he got scared and began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me.” What Jesus did next goes against what usually happens. Usually when we fail, we hear something like, “I told you so!” We often get lectured before we get rescued. But what did Jesus do? First, he reached out to rescue Peter, and then He instructs him. The text says, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.” After grabbing Peter, then Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

What is Jesus asking you to do? Does it seem as impossible as walking on water? If you want to walk on water, you need to begin by getting your feet wet. Simply trust that the Lord is near. He will not let you sink. The One who calls you also reaches out to grab you.

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