Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,120

the service started, she had to admit to herself that they were not coming. No. She was on her own with this one. She half-sang the song she knew with the choir and bowed her head for prayer at the appropriate times. Eventually, it came time for the sermon, and she sat, feeling rather self-conscious as there was nearly a full bench between her and the couple on the other end.

“Today,” the pastor said, “we read the story of Peter in the boat. Now most of us have heard this story. Peter and the disciples are in the boat, and during the last watch, a figure comes toward them. The other disciples are afraid until they begin to wonder if this figure is, in fact, Jesus. To verify, Peter calls out, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to get out of this boat.’ To which, Jesus says, ‘Come.’

“Can you imagine how panicked the other disciples must have been? I’m sure they even tried to physically keep Peter in the boat. How do I know that? Because that’s what we all do with each other. You see, the boat represents our comfort zones or more accurately our safety zone. We believe that in the boat, we are safe. As happens with Scripture, you can read this as the literal story, Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water, or you can read it symbolically for what it means in our lives.

“From that perspective, the boat is what the world says will keep us safe. Do this or don’t do that, and you will be successful and thus safe. The problem with this is, in the boat is not where Jesus is. Jesus is out on the water. To get to where He is, we have to be willing to leave our comfort zone and maybe even do something that looks impossible. We let go of the world’s expectations and do it God’s way instead. In fact, Jesus once said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ So if you are not doing life God’s way, then you are probably in the boat, and it might well be sinking.”

Taylor couldn’t argue with that. Her boat certainly didn’t feel very sea-worthy.

“The key to truly living the life God meant for you to live is to be ready and willing to get out of the boat when Jesus shows up. This will take immense courage and probably more trust than you have ever had in God before. It will look positively crazy to the world around you. For example, when I was a young man, I was in school to become a lawyer. That’s what my family wanted. It’s what society expected of me. When I dropped out to go to theology school, not only were people stunned, some even turned their backs on me. You see, the storm around you when you get out of the boat rarely decreases. It often increases.

“In one way, that is simply perception because out on the water, where your survival is at stake, noticing the wind and waves is the default rather than the exception. But it’s more than that. When you dare to get out of the boat and really follow Jesus, people in your life will kick up a storm like you’ve never seen nor experienced before. They will tell you that what you’re doing will never work, that it can’t, that you can’t do it, that even trying it is crazy. They will do everything they can to make you doubt your calling. Some may even try to use religious terms and Scriptures to convince you.

“That’s why when you get out of the boat, you have to become single-minded in keeping your gaze on Jesus, on His Way for your life. And you have to do that. Jesus will not do it for you. You have to make that choice. The best way I’ve learned to know when it’s time to step out of the boat is that moment when you catch yourself saying, ‘This isn’t working.’ Those words signal that you’re on the wrong path, you’re in the boat and trying to do things on your own strength and power. Releasing your hold and control and surrendering to God’s Way will be about the time others show up to convince you at all costs that you can’t do it, and they are right. If you are going on your own strength, wisdom, and power, you, just like Peter,