Peter Got Out of The Boat

What separates a person from others in a crowd? What makes them different, able to see things that are excluded from the vision of another? “Why can’t others see what is right before their eyes”? I once asked the Lord. He said, “Because they are not looking.” Peter was looking and Peter saw something no other disciple saw that night on the Sea of Galilee.

Peter was moved to action while the other disciples huddled in the seeming safety net of the heaving boat in a state of passivity. The question is, “What made Peter act differently”? The answer is found in his willingness to abandon personal safety, friends, human logic, everything but the desire to reach Jesus. No cost was too great to achieve this goal.

Peter was a man, human in every respect, yet he did something incredibly beyond what most of us would think of trying, let alone actually doing. He walked on water but walking on water wasn’t his goal. He had something much more important in mind. He was determined to be with Jesus NOW.

A student of scripture can see that Peter wanted not simply to follow Jesus, but to be close to Him, walk in step with Him. This is love. It is love when a person wants the best for another, wants to protect and cherish the loved one, cling to every word that is said by the loved one. Love narrows the scope of vision, shutting out the world with its many distractions, to wholeheartedly concentrate on the one loved. Peter loved the Lord and the Lord loved Peter.

A person may look at Peter and wish to be as he was: full of strength, courage, and undeniable singleness of heart. His eyes were riveted upon the silhouette of a figure coming toward the boat. When he recognized the voice that called to be that of Jesus, Peter couldn’t wait. He wanted to be with Jesus, close enough to hear the brush of Jesus’ garments as He walked, close enough to hear Jesus breathing. That close. But before our hero could conquer the waves, he had to first conquer fear and doubt, enemies who like to camp on the doorstep of a person’s soul and interfere with faith.

Peter, as any believer who defies what is humanly impossible must have steadfast faith in God. Such faith didn’t come overnight but was obtained through the process of learning, seeing, embracing. Faith and love grew as Peter followed on to know the Lord until something wonderful happened that night. The power of love for the Lord, perfect love, exciting, stimulating love eliminated fear and raised Peter’s vision above the circumstances. He unleashed the power of faith and of love and took hold of the same truth that tells any believer who looks through the eye of faith, “all things are possible with God.” Fighting the good fight of faith dealt a fatal blow to any hint of doubt in Peter’s thoughts and the last hindering obstacle to releasing his hold on the false security of an earthly boat vanished.

Peter could now separate himself from his peers because he was free from fear and doubt. Peter dared to be different. He was not locked into place with a closed mind that said, “This is impossible,” but broke free from earthly restraints that held others in a state of anxiety. Peter was willing to trust, to shut the door on compromise. One lone voice called to Jesus over the roar of the boisterous wind, asking permission to join his Master and Jesus said, “Come.” Peter set his eyes like a flint toward Jesus, climbed over the boat rail and projected himself toward the crashing, angry waves below. Peter walked on top of the water that night and came out a winner, victorious and strengthened in spirit.

Jesus promised to make Himself real and clearly seen to those who believe in Him, who love Him and who keep His word. These pages are for those who are searchers, who want more reality in their Christian lives, who desire a closer walk with Jesus but don’t know how to attain. There is a path to freedom where hindrances are removed and a relationship of union is established. And Jesus is saying, “Come.”