Getting your feet wet

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

- Matthew 14:25-32

In this familiar passage of Scripture, we read about Peter's doubt and fear when he was walking on the water toward Jesus. One of the lessons often taken from this is the fact that Peter had lost sight of Jesus, which resulted in his beginning to sink.

But another important factor in this story is that Peter's faith needed to grow - and for that to happen, he had to actively take a step out of the boat. He had to get his feet wet. It wasn't about having more faith or trusting God more. It was simply about knowing God's faithfulness enough to take the first step out of his comfort zone.

Over the years, my family has had opportunity to experience God's faithfulness on numerous occasions while we have tried walking on the water. We have taken those first steps, some with fear and uncertainty, some with great doubt and some where we were very close to sinking. But always, God reached out His hand and caught us.

One of the most vivid experience of God's work in our lives was last summer when we relocated to Valleyview. Among other factors that brought us here, being close to our dear cousins and friends Robert and Katrin Lehman was a major drawing card. Just six weeks after our arrival, however, the proverbial rug was pulled out from underneath us when Robert died suddenly.

Let me tell you, we did NOT feel like getting our feet wet by remaining here. In fact, we wondered why God had directed us here only to experience that tremendous loss. All we wanted to do was turn that boat around and set sail for the place from where we had just come.

Thankfully God placed people in our lives - our pastor, our new and reacquainted friends and a counsellor - that encouraged us to get to know God better, to not put life on hold, to take those steps that were fearful and to let Jesus catch us.

We will always miss Robert and would much rather have him here. But God, in His sovereignty deemed otherwise, and we know that we can trust Him, even when it doesn't seem to make any sense - not because we are trying, but because we know God better. And the more we know God, the more we know He is faithful.

Despite the loss and sorrow we still feel, we realize that God stretched out His hand to us. We were afraid, but we stepped out of the boat and experienced His faithfulness.

You, too, can experience the faithfulness of God and grow in your own faith . . . if you are willing to get your feet wet.