Stay In The Boat
by Linda Guy
Have you ever felt like you were drowning? Problems, circumstances, emotions or the flesh are so overwhelming that you identify with Peter's cry, "Lord, save me". Peter had tried to walk on water to go to Jesus, who appeared to the disciples as they were in a boat in the midst of a storm. But now Peter was sinking.Like Peter, I had cried out many times to Jesus in my storms. He always reached down, lifted me up, and gave me the courage to carry on. That is, until the next time when yet again the waves of helplessness broke over my mind and emotions. Again and again He rescued me.
We can all relate to Peter. Our problems may be different and we may feel as if we are the only one in the storm. The cry of one who belongs to Christ is for Him to save. We do need saving; from despair, discouragement, frustration, anger, sin, the world and from our self life. The questions come even as His grace reaches down and rescues us. Lord, why do I keep sinking? Lord, why can't I walk on the water? Lord, what is wrong with me? Lord, what am I lacking? Lord, why am I such a failure? How can I be successful at walking on water?
I asked those questions. I was like Peter; up one minute, full of power in my life as a Christian, but sinking, plummeting down the next. I read books, followed programs, studied the Bible, talked to others and prayed. None of these prevented me from my failure after a period of success. It is said that a person's faith is revealed not in victories, but in the midst of deepest defeats. Is your faith being revealed in defeat? Even though you are struggling to stay afloat, do you still accept his forgiveness and grace and trust Him? Then you are a person of faith.
Some say this story of Peter is about how we should have enough faith to 'walk on water.' I believed that, and was always trying to muster up the faith, strnegth and courage to do so. I tried 'keeping my eyes on Jesus', and 'not looking down at the waves' whatever that meant, for I was never really certain. Satan was just waiting to whisper thoughts such as 'there is something wrong with you, for others can do it. They can be like Jesus'. I was ready to agree, for in my flesh ( the residue from the crucified self) was an image of myself that indeed I was a failure. Living out of lying emotions, and a false belief that God expected me to walk on water, I would then work up my flesh to obey, strive and overcome. For me, walking on the water was to be a perfect Christian mother, to always obey God, to be more committed, to put God and the church first, to never be angry, to never fail or sin, to be a superwoman as I juggled the needs of our five children, teaching, and church work. And so I swung between feelings of inferiority and superiority, of being a failure and being a success.
But did Jesus really expect Peter, (did he really expect Linda) to succeed at water walking thereby being an example to the other disciples of faith and spirituality? The shocking answer came one pivotal day, when yet again I whined, 'Lord, what is the secret of not sinking?' His reply was definitely not what I had expected, but it did bring a peace, a lift in my heart and above all, hope. 'Stay in the boat'. Stay in the boat! How can that be? The thoughts challenged my emotions, beliefs and theology. God is always challenging my beliefs, but He does it not when I am successful, but when I am sinking.
Mankind's issue, from the garden of Eden, is attempting to be god. 'The basic psychological problem is trying to be what we are not, and trying to carry what we cannot carry. Most of all, the basic problem is not willing to be the creatures before the Creator.' (1) Man was not created to walk on water. And so, convicted of attempting to be what I was not, I looked more carefully at the record in Matthew Chapter 14, verses 22-33. After Jesus reached down and pulled Peter out of the waves, He said to Him, 'O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?' Was Peter's doubt centred on his inability to walk on water, was he doubtful that Jesus' power would hold him up? Perhaps, but Peter's first point of doubt was with the question, 'Lord, if it is you'. Jesus had appeared in the storm, walking into their fears and saying 'It is I, be not afraid.' What was Peter's response? 'Lord, I am not sure it is you.' The 'if ' expressed Peter's doubting heart and mind, ruled by his emotions.
'Lord, if it is you, then let me come to you'. The presence of Jesus is to be accepted by faith, against feelings, and it seems that all the disciples, except Peter trusted the Person in the storm. It was in unbelief that Peter stepped out of the boat. Faith kept the other disciples resting in the boat, secure in the awareness of Christ's presence. We either believe God, or we prove Him. Peter was about to prove Him. Peter doubted that Jesus was in the storm; he doubted that His Lord was above the storm; he doubted that the presence of Jesus was enough.
It was not Jesus who initiated the plan for Peter to walk on water. It was Peter's idea. Jesus, in His grace and wisdom, said 'come'. Peter tried his plan, he tried to come on the water, and he failed; he botched it.
We are not to tell God what the plans for our lives should be; we are not the initiators of God's activity into our lives; we are not to define spirituality or success. And when we step out of His perfect will into our will, He permits us to do so and we sink. He invites us to 'come', that we might discover what we cannot do. God permits us to 'do our own thing' but always in love.
What did Jesus do with Peter after he caught him? He put him back in the boat. He did not stand Peter on the water, and say 'Peter, now keep your eyes on me, I am going to teach you how to walk on water. Peter never tried it again. Jesus took Peter back safely into the boat which was His provision for them all to get to the other side. Back in the boat with the other disciples, who had chosen to trust.
Here is the secret of staying afloat during the storms of life; stay in the boat. It is in unbelief that we also step out to try to go to Jesus, to try to imitate Him rather than participate in His life; to try to initiate, rather than co-operate with Him. God's intentions were never for us to define spirituality by what we achieve, by image, self-righteousness, pleasing others, or by performance. His definition is faith; faith in the presence of Christ resulting in rest and peace. Our flesh, our pride, would sooner walk on water; it takes humility to remain in the boat. We do not come to Jesus; He has already come to us.
Does it take greater faith to attempt to walk on water, or to stay in the boat? My conclusion in listening to discouraged believers is that it takes more faith to believe that God is working in the natural events of life than it does to believe in supernatural intervention. Faith to believe that He is in the governments that refuse immigration visas; or in the natural physical cycles that women face when fatigue requires them to slow down and rest; or in the natural provision of being lead by a husband even if you are not in agreement with his decisions; in the natural circumstances of finances, the economy or health. When Christ is invited into the natural, life becomes supernatural. But the natural, not yielded to the supernatural, becomes unnatural. The natural was in the boat, the lake and the storm and even the disciples initial fears. It is unnatural for man to attempt to walk on water. But Peter did live a supernatural life later, in the power of the indwelling Christ. It was as He allowed God to initiate everything into his life, as he lay down His plans and agenda and yielded to Christ's.
Peter's big problem seems to have been pride. Pride sponsors unbelief. He never wanted to be just like the others; he did not want mediocrity. 'Though all others forsake you, I will not' he boasted. His desire to be successful as a believer needed to come under the rule of Christ. There is nothing wrong with having desires, for God places them in our hearts; but we must allow Him to define how they will be satisfied. Otherwise, our desires to lead us to seek our glory, rather than God's glory.
Pride may take us out of the boat. God will allow us to attempt to walk on the water of performance, so He can reveal the hidden pride, cloaked in spirituality. There is nothing like sinking as others watch, to bring us to the end of ourselves and into Him.
What does it really mean to remain in the boat? It is to believe that we will come to the other side, as He has promised, as we invite Him into every part of our being; into our circumstances, emotions, thoughts and beliefs. It is to acknowledge that He has already come to us; and in living in the awareness of His presence we live in peace, love, acceptance and hope. Weakness and failure are embraced, not feared. It is God's responsibility to bring us to the other side.
And, even as we reach the other side of pride, loss of image and strength, our feet will hit the ground. We will stand, and not sink, for from that place of rest in His life flowing through us, we will walk where and how we were created to walk. Life will be productive and joyful as we discover that living in Him energizes us for an extraordinary, exciting life.
So, get back in the boat; remain in Him. It is the safest place to be. There will be times when you will again venture out onto the seas of pride, self-effort and unbelief. Remember, He is there in the storm, whether you are resting in the boat, or struggling on the waves. He will not forsake you in your failures, when your apparent success in the flesh only takes you down. As it was for Peter, so it is for you; God's purposes are being fulfilled in you. Christ is not fighting your failures, He is using them. Allow Him to take you back into the boat. As you, a branch, abide in Him the Vine, miracles will happen. But your definition of a miraculous, super-natural life will have changed. Then we will talk more about Jesus, and less about water walking.
Linda M Guy. (1998)
(1) Frances Shaeffer 'True Spirituality'