Follow Me.
It is the greatest command we can receive. It is the most beautiful journey, the most awesome adventure, the most rewarding pursuit. It is also the most terrifying.
Have you ever thought about where God might call you in your life? Sure, you have your future all planned out in your mind. You might even think that God is the One who designed those dreams and gave them to you. And He probably did.
But what if He said, "Alright, Beloved. Those beautiful dreams that I gave you; the incredible plans; the amazing future that you've pictured for so long now; I want you to give them up. And I don't just mean giving Me permission to take them away; I mean I'm taking them away, right here, right now, and I'm changing the entire course of your life."
What if He did that?
As soon as we make the commitment to follow Christ, we must be willing to say with Peter, "Lord, if it's You, tell me to come to You on the water."
And instead of saying, "Nah, it's okay. I think you should keep your boring, mediocre, just-okay life. I'll be to your boat in just a second," more often than not, He will stretch out His hand and say, "Come."
At that moment, we learn the incredible amount of faith that is required to keep our mind off the waves and keep us living on top of the water. At that moment, we realize how essential it is to keep our eyes on Jesus and off of the wind. At that moment, we truly begin to live.
If we would truly experience Christ as He was meant to be experienced, we must step out on the water. It requires an immense amount of trust. It requires that we say, "Lord, I'm kinda helpless right now. I can't swim, and if I go under, You're the only One who can pull me out. So here I am. My life is completely in Your hands." The experience is at once terrifying and exhilarating.
So look around. What is it that's keeping you from stepping out on the water? Can you believe that your Jesus loves you so much that He will never let you slip under the surface? When we lose faith, when we take our eyes off Him and fall, He doesn't stand there, shake His head, and let us flounder for a while so that we get the picture. No, it says, "Immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him." Your Savior is waiting right there to catch you. He knows the plans He has for you. He's holding your hand. He's waiting with joyous anticipation for you to discover the future He has for you.
He wants you to know the rush of stepping out in faith and walking on the water because of it. And if you step out, He will never, ever let you fall.
