Getting Out Of The Boat
Matthew 14:28-30 - "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to
you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked
on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,
beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" (NIV)
After my "conversion/collision" with God in 1988, life did not exactly smooth
out, but instead, became more challenging. Doing things His way instead of my
own forced me out of the "boat" of my own comfort and onto the treacherous sea
to which He has called me.
In 1996, God gave me a "push" to move my family from Houston to Fort Worth, here
in Texas, USA. A job opened up in the Fort Worth area, and I took it, and left
my wife the "joy" of selling our home in Houston. Within a few months, the
company's owner began secluding himself in his office and acting strangely
distant to the employees. Then, the news came down that he was selling the
company, and my new position was in jeopardy.
Like Peter, I had stepped out of the boat in faith, but now, I was starting to
sink. And I was taking my whole family down -- wife, teenagers, dogs, and all!
There was nothing left to do but yell, "Lord, save me!"
What did God do? In His own peculiar way, after a few weeks passed by, He opened
the door for me with a company of aging owners. They wanted somebody on board
with my "in-depth" experience to help them sell their company. They were great
to me and treated this prodigal like one of their own.
It would not be the last time that Love incarnate would pull me out of the sea
of trouble.
"Lord, save me!" How many times have we been sinking in life? We have lost a job
or a loved one, or suffered some other type of setback. It looks hopeless. We
are sinking, and sinking fast. "Lord, save me!"
Friends, if God calls us out of the boat that we are in, or the job, or the
situation, we should ask only one question: "Lord, is it You?" Then we should
follow our heart to Him, keeping our eyes upon Him and ignoring the winds and
the waves of life. Should we begin to sink, we need remember this short prayer:
"Lord, save me!"
Prayer: Father God, please give us the courage to "get out of the boat" -- the
boat of our misery, selfishness, and feelings of unworthiness -- and come to You
when You call, no matter what the cost. Amen.
David Sheehan
davidjsheehan100@yahoo.com
Crowley, Texas, USA
Thanks to http://daily.presbycan.ca