He Still Walks on WaterSample

Get in the Boat
Life is a series of mountaintops and valleys. We must be careful not to focus too much attention on either. Valleys can run so deep that we allow our struggles to overshadow our victories and good experiences. Likewise, we can’t live on the mountain; God always has a purpose for our valleys.

I myself had a valley, which I write more about in my book, He Still Walks on Water. During my hospitalization, I developed a very deep appreciation for Matthew 14:22-33. The story of Jesus coming to the disciples and nearly scaring them to death by walking on water is one of the most stirring in the Bible, with six lessons that apply to our daily lives:

1) When He says go, we must respond.

2) When He says give, we must open up our bank account.

3) When He says trust, we must cast aside all fear, doubt, and misgivings and (to use a familiar phrase) go “all in.”

4) After pastoring three churches and serving in various church administrative roles for many years, I can assure you that our plans rarely match God’s.

5) Faith demands looking beyond what sits in front of our eyes or exists in our rational, logical thought processes.

6) God’s plans rarely make sense to human minds.

The lessons that stand out in the Matthew 14 passage start with the fact that God has a plan. In this story, we need to realize that the boat, the wind, and the waves were all a part of a grand design. The disciples were exactly where Jesus told them to be and doing what He told them to do. This is significant because it demonstrates that difficulties don’t necessarily mean we are out of the will of God any more than Job was when life plunged him into the midst of overwhelming grief. A storm can be an integral part of the Lord’s plan. So, while we may not like the idea of rowing into the midst of chaos and disaster, we have to get in the boat.

Obedience to the Lord isn’t always easy and can often be uncomfortable. Sometimes, we don’t understand the purpose of a valley or how it fits into God’s plan for our life. There are times when we must (as 2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV, says) “walk by faith, not by sight.” These times require the belief to say, “God, I don’t understand why I’m going through this storm. It doesn’t make sense. But I choose to trust You!”

With God, the path we follow may lead through a fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:26-29), a stormy sea like the disciples, or (in my case) a mangled bicycle. It may be uncomfortable and even disagreeable, but whatever is going on, remember that God always has a purpose for what we are going through. Lori learned that when she went through the aftermath of my accident and saw how it helped grow her faith.

Heartache, sickness, and distress are inevitable in this world. In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul emphasized that we are workers together with Christ and equipped to persevere by His grace. No matter our circumstances or vocational calling, we are called to “commend ourselves as ministers of God” (2 Corinthians 6:4, NKJV) without getting offended but demonstrating patience and enduring distasteful things like tribulation, sleeplessness, and imprisonment. The sustenance of the Lord during adversity gives us a testimony and witness to the power of Christ.

How do we trust God’s plan when we don’t know what it is? When we go through a trial and ask ourselves, "What happened? I thought God had such great plans for me, but all I see is hardship!"

Well, our job isn’t to fit all the pieces together. It’s simply to follow God’s lead as He fits all the pieces together. Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV) says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”