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I’ve always had an adventurous spirit.
My boys don’t think so because I won’t ride rollercoasters with them. I’ve told them I’m not afraid of the loops or heights. It’s the motion sickness I don’t like! I get nauseous riding to the grocery store. But they don’t believe me.
I love learning new things, traveling to new places, and meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds. I get bored with things easily and like to change them up just to make life more interesting. Sometimes when I see others venturing out and trying new things, I’ll try too just to see if I can do it. I may end up looking foolish, but at least I tried!
Walking with Jesus has been the most amazing and exciting adventure I could have ever imagined. Jesus sees so much more in us than we see in ourselves. He knows all of the gifts and talents He’s put inside of us. And I think He gets pleasure from seeing us discover them as we step out into new areas by faith.
When we step out into new areas for God, especially areas where we’re uncertain or afraid, we’re putting our trust and faith in Him, and not in our own abilities. When we’re willing to obey Him at the risk of failing and looking foolish, we’re putting His opinion of us above the opinions of others.
Abraham is a great example of this kind of obedience. He was in a comfortable place, surrounded by family and all things familiar. But at God’s command, he and his wife packed up all they had and left all they had ever known. They didn’t even know where they were going. God told them to go first and He would give them the details later.
And what was His reward for this extravagant obedience? God called Abraham His friend. The man who had waited all his life for children was rewarded at the age of 100 with a son. And along with his son, he received the promise that his descendants would be more numerous than grains of sand at the seashore. Abraham lived a life of adventure, intimacy with God, obedience, faith, and fulfilled promises because he chose to do things God’s way, even when God’s way wasn’t the easy way.
An adventurous heart can easily find a home with Jesus. He never changes, but He’s always calling us to change and step out in faith. He always has new adventures planned for us. These adventures aren’t always glamorous and exciting, but they help us become the person He created us to be. And they help us to see Him as He really is.
When I quit my 9-5 job to be a stay-at-home mom, some thought I was crazy. They told me I was wasting my talents and education and sabotaging my career. But I was excited about raising my little ones for Him. To me, it was a career change. In my heart, I was gaining far more than I was giving up. When Jesus calls us to do something, He’s always near to our hearts, helping us along the way. He works in us to will and do according to His good pleasure. And even if God’s call doesn’t look attractive to the world, our hearts burn within us to please and obey the One we love. Obeying Jesus is success for a Christian, no matter the outcome or how we look to the world around us.
Peter also had an adventurous spirit. He loved Jesus with all his heart and followed close to Him at all times. Remember when the Lord was cooking breakfast for His disciples on the shore of Galilee after His resurrection? John was the first to recognize Jesus. But Peter was the first one to get to Him. As soon as Peter knew it was Jesus he jumped into the water and swam to shore.
I want to cling to the Lord like Peter.
After Jesus miraculously fed the crowd of 5000, He told His disciples to get in a boat and head to the other side of the lake while He stayed behind to pray alone. Sometime during the night, a storm arose on the lake and his disciples were caught in it. Jesus walked out to them on the water. At first, the disciples were afraid, thinking He was a ghost. But He called out to them letting them know it was Him and not to be afraid.
Peter said, “Lord, if it’s you, call me to come to you.” Jesus answered Peter with one word, “Come.” That was all Peter needed. He wanted to be wherever Jesus was, even if it was on a lake in the middle of a storm.
So, Peter left the safety of the boat to brave the danger of the storm. Foolish? Maybe. But Jesus told him to come.
If Jesus was walking on the water, Peter wanted to be with Him. If Jesus was doing the miraculous, Peter wanted to be a part.
Often people give Peter a hard time for taking his eyes off Jesus and sinking, or stepping out of the boat altogether! But Peter did something no one except Jesus has ever done. He walked on water! Even with all of his faults, Peter exercised great faith and obedience.
I love that Jesus was close enough to reach out His hand and keep Peter from drowning. The Bible says they entered the boat together.
Don’t you just love Peter? His faith. His obedience. His unashamed love for Jesus. His adventurous spirit.
I, too, want to walk on the water with Jesus. If Jesus is doing impossible things, I want to be a part, if only for a minute before I start sinking. I’d rather have the thrill of walking with Jesus on the water than the security of the boat. I’d rather endure the chiding of people who call me foolish for stepping out into places I don’t belong than always wonder what might have been if I had obeyed the Lord’s call to come.
But that kind of faith is scary and that kind of obedience is messy. There are no clear-cut directives, no full-proof methods for stepping out onto the water with Jesus. The opportunity can pass us by without us even recognizing it. And maybe we want it to.
Fear can strap us to our seats. His voice can be easily drowned out by the sound of the crashing waves, and we may wonder if we really heard His voice to start with. We can let the excuse of being wise keep us from obeying the Master’s voice. Obeying Jesus is always the wisest choice even when it goes against our best judgement.
God understands our weaknesses. He knows we are but dust. And I think He gives us Peter’s example to encourage us to follow and obey Him no matter what.
I don’t have all this figured out. Not at all. I stumble and fall more often than I walk and run. But being close to Jesus is worth the risk. The whole idea of stepping out of the boat, away from the crowd, and into something new can feel impossible, and without Him it is. He wants us to be apart of the impossible thing He’s doing.
And please remember, the others in the boat were not unbelieving or disobedient. They were Jesus’ chosen disciples and He was the one who told them to get into the boat in the first place. They were in the boat out of obedience to Christ. If Jesus is calling you out of the boat, don’t judge those in the boat. He called you. Don’t judge others by what Jesus has called you to do.
And keep in mind, the boat wasn’t bad either. It was a safe place. Jesus told them to get in the boat. It was His way of getting them from where they were to where He needed them to be. But sometimes He calls us on an impromptu adventure while we are on the way to our ultimate destination. He wants us to walk on the water with Him, to enjoy Him, to experience a little miracle in the middle of the mundane.
Maybe a crisis is raging around you and all you can see is the threatening storm. Your instincts tell you to cower down, hide, and make yourself as small as possible until it passes. The boat seems a sure thing, the safest place to be during the storm. But Jesus isn’t afraid of the storm and He doesn’t want you to be either.
He comes to you, walking over the waves, doing something amazing right in the middle of your crisis.
We want Jesus to be moved by the storm surrounding us. But instead He comes to us walking on it.
In the midst of our fear, He comforts us. “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” And we may think, “Well, that’s easy for you to say, Jesus. You can walk on water.” But He wants to show us we can too when we walk with Him.
I believe something inside of us yearns to go to Jesus, yearns to be with Him, yearns to believe for impossible things.
When Jesus calls us to something new it usually starts with a longing, a desire deep inside our hearts. It’s okay to ask for confirmation before we step out. We can ask, “Lord, is this You?” But we have to be willing to obey if it is.
In the middle of a storm it’s never going to feel like the right time to step out of the boat. But once you’ve heard Jesus say “Come,” you’ve got to step out. Don’t wait for the storm to subside. Do it afraid.
Keep your eyes on Jesus. As long as we have our eyes on Jesus, we won’t sink. But if we do begin to sink, Jesus is close enough to save us. He won’t let us drown.
Walking with Jesus on the water, even if we fall, is so much better than never getting out of the boat and always wondering what might have been.
Take the step. You’ll be so glad you did.
© Audrey McCracken, 2023
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