Water-Walking FaithSample

Water-walkers do

We all have comfort zones, and that’s ok. But to live a life of water-walking faith, we need to get comfortable with the idea that God is calling us beyond comfort. It’s scary. It’s also totally worth it. Because if we’re to be all God has called us to be and do all He has called us to do, we’ll need to be brave enough to act on His promises and promptings and step out of the boat.

In that storm-tossed boat, Peter has a significant decision to make: get out of the boat, or not? You’ve no doubt been alive long enough to have had a big decision to make. Perhaps there were significant risks, and you were scared. Perhaps the decision changed your life. As Peter steps out of the boat, his weight shifts from the safety of the boat and onto the unknown of the waves. Surely, he can’t believe what’s happening! You may not have physically walked on water, but have you experienced something of the miraculous, when you took a decision in faith and decided to act on a word God had given you? It may also be valuable to ask yourself in this season: What does it look like for me to step out in faith? What makes up the comfort zone tempting me to stay where I am? What’s the boat I need to step out of?

Water-walkers do. They don’t just cross their fingers hoping for the best. They don’t just sit around waiting for something to happen. They do something about the word that God has spoken to them. You get to decide if you’re going to be someone who makes things happen, or lets things happen.

In Mark 4, we read Jesus’ parable about the seeds sown in four different kinds of soil. He’s making the point that our hearts (the soil) need to be receptive to His word to us (the seed). At the end of the story Jesus says, ‘If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.’ (Mark 4:23) Jesus’ friends and followers understood the word hear to mean pretty much the same thing as do. Think about the last inspiring sermon you heard, book you read, or Instagram post you saved. What did you do with that inspiration you heard? Conviction is great, but without action it’s empty. Revelation is powerful, but without action it’s pointless. Action will cost you some courage and discomfort, but you’ll be so glad you stepped out proactively to obey. And of course, you need to let go of the boat to realise you’re actually able to stand.

May God fill you with faith to be an excited, expectant, proactive doer of His word to you, and not just a comfortable hearer. May He give you the grace and strength you need to step out onto the waves with water-walking faith, and the assurance that you stand on His promises.