Getting Out of My Boat

^{One of my all time favorite stories from the Bible would have to be the story of Jesus walking on the water from Matthew 14:22-25.  I love the fact that Jesus walks out to the boat and tells Peter to come and join Him.  Peter trusts for a bit....and then his trust begins to diminish and he begins to sing....how like this we are.}

^"22 Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home.²³ After he had sent them away, he went by himself up into the hills to pray. It was late, and Jesus was there alone.²⁴ By this time, the boat was already far away from land. It was being hit by waves, because the wind was blowing against it. ²⁵ Between three and six o'clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water.²⁶ When his followers saw him walking on the water, they were afraid. They said, "It's a ghost!" and cried out in fear.
 ²⁷ But Jesus quickly spoke to them, "Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."
 ²⁸ Peter said, "Lord, if it is really you, then command me to come to you on the water."
 ²⁹ Jesus said, "Come."
   And Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. ³⁰But when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. He shouted, "Lord, save me!"
 ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Jesus said, "Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?"
 ³² After they got into the boat, the wind became calm.³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "Truly you are the Son of God!"
 ³⁴ When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret.³⁵ When the people there recognized Jesus, they told people all around there that Jesus had come, and they brought all their sick to him.³⁶ They begged Jesus to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed."

I have to admit that I am still flying pretty high from the Women of Faith conference this weekend.  I was delighted all weekend when one of the topics they all talked about was having the courage to get out of your boat.  The main thought there is that if you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat. I love that sentence, and I love the book by John Ortberg. I mean come on....that title is so very simple but to the point, don't you think? The sad thing is there are people who are a lot like me....we don't want to walk on the water? I like my little boat that I am in.  Sometimes I stay not because I like my little boat....but because it is familiar.  I stayed in a marriage for over 20 years because of that.  Familiar was better than alone.  It took me a long time to realize that.  I used to believe that as long as the good outweighed the bad....it was not so bad....but then one day I realized I was being short changed in the relationship department and I was not going to be able to fix it....because in order for that to happen you had to have two willing parties.  One of my spiritual gifts is that of encouragement.  It has always been easy for me to encourage others to step out of their boats.....away from their comfort zones....and journey into service for God.  The sad thing is....no one has every really pushed/encouraged me.  The only time I remember being pushed was when the Arbor Praise Service began....Don Cross double dog dared me to show up....and I did....and never wanted to leave.  The Service was good for me.....but after ten years it became my boat....and I did not want to leave it.  God finally challenged me to get of my boat. And what a blessing this has been. :) God had something marvelous planned for me.....and I call it Rock Mills.   What about you today?  Are you content sitting in your boat?  Don't be like me and miss your opportunity to step out of your boat.  Focus your eyes on Jesus....step out....and never look down, or back.  I want to give you a challenge.   I would like for you to step out of your "boat' and accept new and exciting things I believe God is calling you to do. Calling...Yeah right....it is more like invading....because believe me He has hounded me often.   I want you to accept that God has made you a certain way for a certain time to influence certain people. We may not keep the same friends forever, we may not feel the warmth of the same family members forever, we may not work the same job/have the same career forever.  Let me tell you that it is a scary thing to be challenged and then feel accountable to someone else for that challenge. Yep it is definitely scary, but a good feeling nonetheless. Who knows, if we step out of the boats we may just like where we are going!  So let me ask you When was the last time you intentionally did something that was a stretch for you personally? ASP was one of mine.  I don't like to be really grossly dirty.  I don't like using power tools....but once I did....it was awesome!  When examining the place you are in your life right now, do you see an area where you can take a step of faith forward?  I could not believe it when I found myself registering to become a lay speaker.  I am a teacher....yes....but not a preacher.  I found that telling about my God is something that really excites me. When you see an opportunity to step out of your boat, what holds you back?  I hold myself back.  I am afraid of what others will think.  I am afraid it will be too hard.  I am afraid I will fail....hummmm sounds familiar?  Sounds kind of like Peter when he looked down don't cha think?  Let me tell you (and myself) never let anything hold you back....just Do It!  I promise...you won't regret it!  HAPPY MONDAY!

**Do you have a boaters license?  I do because I was grandfathered in.  I think it would be important for me to take a boaters safety course.  How about you?  Click on the link below and see what you need to do.
Alabama Boaters License