"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.'" Matthew 14:25-29, NKJV
They were in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, and they came face to face with a choice. They could either respond to this situation in fear, or by faith. I wish I could tell you that the life of faith carries no risk to it. But that would be wrong; because frankly, living a life of faith is a huge risk. The Apostle Paul said if Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, then we as believers are living a miserable lie. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19, NLT) But here’s the good news: Jesus did rise from the dead! Which means we get to live this wonderful life of faith. But, it is important to note that it is a life that includes taking a risk from time to time.
You see it would have been much easier for them to not take a risk and stay in the boat, letting fear determine their next move. But Peter did something that separated him from the other disciples. He chose to responded by faith rather than fear, and said, Jesus if that’s really You then I’m willing to do the impossible. I mean really, when was the last time you saw someone walking on water, other than to go ice fishing?
But there is an important ingredient to this story. It is what’s necessary to receive the reward for taking a risk – and that is, to have a word from God. Did you notice that Peter didn’t move until he had a word from Jesus? I’m confident that if Jesus hadn’t answered Peter that he wouldn’t have stepped out of that boat. You see Peter did more than just walk on water – he was actually walking on the word of Jesus. Think about it. It wasn’t a paragraph, or even a sentence – just one word, “come.” Peter believed that word, mixed it with his faith, and then took a risk leaving the safety of the boat. His super-sized risk was rewarded by a super-sized reward – He actually walked on water.
What about you? What has God been saying to you lately? Has Jesus been walking around the boat of your life, waiting for you to call out to Him? What reward is out there for you to risk it all for? Remember, without a risk there is no reward.
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