Can you imagine what it feels like to walk on water? The apostle Peter can. In the middle of the night on stormy seas, Peter saw Jesus walking on the water. With amazing abandon, Peter called out to Jesus and jumped out of the boat. Think about it! He jumped out of a boat into a raging sea. He could have easily drowned! But he didn’t. He walked on water! His watery voyage walking on water didn’t last long before he realized what he was doing and sank, leaving it to Jesus to rescue him. But what a glorious few steps they were! I’m sure he never forgot that day and that feeling.
What has always intrigued me, though, is thinking of the other disciples. While Peter was walking on water, and then sinking, the other disciples were nestled in the relative safety of the boat. They had been with Jesus just like Peter. They had seen the unbelievable miracles He had performed. But they stayed in the boat. Only Peter got out of the boat. Bold steps of faith can be scary.
Even small steps of faith can be daunting and fill us with fear. Faith is a muscle to be exercised. When we exercise faith in the small, yet scary parts of our lives, we are emboldened to exercise in the larger, more risky areas of our lives. In other words, before you can walk on water, you have to walk on puddles. Puddles are more manageable, even though we don’t know what lies beneath the surface of the puddle. Small acts of faith can still be intimidating. Growing in faith follows a natural progression from puddles to water.
What puddles of water might Jesus be calling you to walk? Maybe a friend is in pain and you need to go visit and pray for her, but you feel inadequate. Maybe God is calling you to trust Him with some problem in your life, but you want to hang on to your worry. Maybe you have hesitated to share your faith when opportunities have arisen because you feel like a hypocrite and others might think you are a fanatic. Maybe you need to forgive someone who hurt you deeply long ago, but you are scared to let go of that wound. Maybe you need to step out and test a place you think God might be calling you, but the risk feels huge.
God may not be calling you today to walk on water, but is He gently calling you to walk on puddles? The wonderful truth is that sometimes puddle-walkers become water-walkers.
What puddle of water might Jesus be calling you to walk on this week?
I love this Tommy – the thought of puddle-walking is such a great illustration of the small steps of faith we should be taking to grow. You asked what puddle of water God might be calling me to walk across this week. This is exactly what we talked about in our international Bible study in Stockholm yesterday! In Sweden, people are more reserved and find it somewhat rude to talk to (or even make eye contact) with strangers. So even getting to know neighbors can be difficult. We all challenged each other to find ways to connect with people around us in Stockholm who may be lonely or searching, but because of social norms, may find it hard to connect. Because we realize that it is through relationship that we can share the hope we have and love our neighbors!
That is a great real-life example of puddle-walking. This is where faith meets real life. Thanks for sharing. Hope all is well in youe end of the world!
Tommy: This is what I needed to hear! My wife and I are having $ challenges with our business and we are walking through big puddles! It is important for me to sit and listen to Jesus! Jake
I have been there in business! Those struggles are hard and very stressful! They are big puddles of needed faith, not small ones! I’ll pray for you!