Getting out of the “boat”

Getting out of the boat is so much easier said than done.

Consider the fishermen who became fishers of men.

In Matthew 4: 18 - 22, Simon (Peter) & Andrew were at their daily job...catching fish, James and John were mending their nets getting ready for work when Jesus called them "out of their boat" to follow Him. They obeyed instantly - at least that's how it seemed. However, Dr Luke gave us a different angle of the story in Luke 5: 1-11. These four men decided to forsake their comfort zones and follow Jesus after He performed an amazing miracle in their lives.

It couldn't have been easy because much later in the Gospels, we see that they went back to their fishing careers. In John 21, after Jesus had risen, Peter and the other fishermen-turned-disciples went fishing, they didn’t catch a thing until the Lord appeared and directed them on what to do. This time Peter didn’t ask or wait to be invited out of the boat – he jumped out and went to Jesus. I believe it was at this time that he truly got out of his comfort zone - “the boat” and got a clear leading on what God wanted him to do.

Leaving your comfort zone is tough. As women we consider (and rightly so) many things - "What will my friends say?", "What will my parents say?", "How will I cope?", "What will my boss/colleagues say?"; wives wonder "What will my husband say?", "What will my husband's friends' say?"; mothers ask: "What will my children think?"; as Christians we may ask: "What will other members of my church think/say?" There seem to be more questions than answers...

Stepping out of the boat could mean very many different things to each person. For instance, it could mean:

• being a more prayerful woman e.g. rather than go for your coffee/tea or lunch breaks to spend the time in the word of God and/or in prayer.
• mean making new friends who you can share your faith with from the way you live and conduct yourself – that can be tough. A lot of us are good at keeping our “old friends”.
• changing your job - now, this is not to say that you should quit your job...not at all - except that is what God has specifically asked you to do.

It is possible that your “time” at a particular place is “up” and God wants you to move on to the next mission field like He did with Phillip in Act 8:5 & 26. Philip may have wanted to become the Pastor in charge of the church of Samaria – after all, he was instrumental in their salvation but God had a better plan...to make Philip the person through whom the gospel will go to other continents including Africa. Conversely, getting out of the boat could mean remaining at your current place of employment where there may still be work to be done or as an avenue of supporting the ministry - for instance, Paul in Act 18: 1-6 stayed with his professional colleagues and preached the word too until it was time to again "get out of the boat" and move on.

We were all created to fulfill a particular purpose in life as we walk with God and work for Him. Walking in and fulfilling God's purpose as a woman can be a challenge. However, when we realise that without God we’re nothing and without Him we can do nothing, trusting and focusing on Him will make it easier to get out of the boat and walk on water to His glory.
It is on record (in the Bible) that apart from Jesus, Peter is the only other man who walked on water - only because he got out of the boat.

What challenges are you facing in getting out of the boat to walk on water?