Out of the Boat with Jesus

“Peter replied, ‘Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ He said.”

Matthew 14:28-29

I don’t think I have ever explained the name of my blog – “Out of the boat with Jesus.”  It’s based on the story of Peter walking on the water towards Jesus.  When I was in the process of praying about what to do with the call to go and serve in Germany, I was really struggling.  To be honest, I was afraid to go – to move away from America, to move so far away from our kids and grandkids.  I was afraid to go and live in a different culture.   I was afraid to sell our home (which would have been paid off by retirement if we had stayed at Lamb of God) and with it, to sell most of a lifetime of belongs.  During that time of prayer and struggle, the Lord kept confronting me with the story of Peter walking to him on the water.  As the day of decision drew closer, Peter’s words became my prayer.  “Lord, if it’s You… if this call to Trinity Frankfurt is from you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

God answered that prayer on the morning of the day Linda and I were to make the decision.  That morning I received a message from our son Jon, who lives in Indonesia.  He told me the story of how his wife Dora had struggled over the decision to leave Indonesia and go to China for two years to study Chinese.  She was worried about what happen to her church’s Sunday School if she moved away.  Would anyone step in to oversee it after she left, or would it just die?  Eventually she decided to trust God and go.  Then Jon wrote, “Dad, because she came to China, that’s where she and I met.  And now we are married and we have Kellan (one of our grandchildren.)  And Dad, God did provide someone to take over the Sunday School.  My point is that if you go, God will take care of Lamb of God and he will take care of all of us, your family.  If you stay, He will take care of Trinity.”  The message I heard was this – You can trust Jesus!  My prayer had been, “Lord, if it’s you tell me to come to you on the water.”  That morning, in my son’s message, I heard what I believed was our Lord’s answer.  Jesus was saying to me, “Come.”

Now you know that many, when they read this text, focus on Peter’s faith.  The message often is that as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine.  But when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and focused on the dangers around him, he started to sink into the water.  Therefore, we are told, the lesson is that you should always keep your eyes on Jesus.  That is true.  However, I think that there is an even greater message for us in this story.  That message has to do with the focus of Jesus – that even though Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, Jesus never took His eyes off of Peter.  When Peter cried out, “Lord, Save me!”  Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught Him.”

As you know, Linda and I did get out of the boat and go to Germany.    It remained a hard and scary thing to do.  There were moments when we took our eyes off of the Lord.  But He never took His eyes off of us.  He gave us a wonderful loving church family at Trinity, most of whom knew exactly how hard it was to move far from home to live in a different culture.  They were patient.  They loved us.  They helped us come to love the international life.    During our time, there God brought Jon and Dora to nearby Hungary for two years, as well as Steven (our youngest) to study for a year in Cambridge.  All our kids, as well as other friends, were able to come and visit us.  Oh we never stopped missing our kids and grandkids, but our Lord always had His eyes on us, and was always there to catch us.

Where is the Lord calling you to get out of the boat and come to Him on the water?  Are your kids leaving home to go to college and suddenly the nest is empty?  Are you having trouble finding a new job?  Are you moving?  Thinking about getting married?  Facing a tough decision about the future?  Only you know the name of the winds and the waves that scare you.  In the midst of all this know a couple of things.  First, you’ll never walk on the water unless you get out of the boat.  Second, you don’t get out of the boat alone.  You get out of the boat with Jesus.  When those scary moments come, when you have taken your eyes off of Him, Jesus will never take His eyes off of you.