I don’t know how many of you are aware of the story in the bible where Jesus, walking on water, appears to His disciples who are in a boat. The disciples’ boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. They thought it was a ghost.
But Jesus was quick to comfort them. "Have courage, it's me. Don't be afraid."
Peter, one of the disciples in the boat suddenly feeling very bold said, "Master, if it's really you, call me to come to join you on the water."
Jesus replied, "Come on."
There’s a book called ‘If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat’ which invites you to consider the incredible potential that awaits you outside your comfort zone. Quite early on it challenges you to put yourself in Peter’s position:
Jesus is inviting you to go on the adventure of your life, to walk on water but you’re scared to death. What would you choose – the water or the boat?
The boat is safe and secure.
On the other hand the water is rough. The waves are high. The wind is strong. There’s a storm out there so it’s not the easiest of places to be. If you get out of the boat though, there’s a good chance you might sink.
But if you don’t get out of the boat, you will never know and there’s a guaranteed certainty that you will never walk on the water.
I believe there is something – Someone – who tells us there is more to life than sitting in the boat. That there is more to life than merely avoiding potential failure. There is something inside you that wants to walk on water – to leave the comfort of routine existence and abandon yourself to the high adventure of following God.
So what’s the ‘boat’?
It’s whatever represents safety and security, apart from God himself.
Initially for me, coming to Richard Alibon was a ‘getting out of the boat’ experience, but it has now become my boat. It’s 6 ½ years since I officially started work at RAPS, but my history goes back a couple of years earlier when, in my 3rd year of teacher training, I came as a student.
Back then, in Red Class with Miss Long, who would have thought I’d become part of the furniture?! Richard Alibon has become more than just a place of work for me. I left home, 263 miles away because I believed it was what God was calling me to do. I was a quiet little Northern girl back then...and look what you did to me!
You have brought me into adulthood, into independence. You’ve given me confidence and belief in myself. You’ve loved me and looked after me. You’ve hugged me and cried with me. You have supported me in ways I could never have imagined and through circumstances I would have never dreamed to find myself in.
I can’t quite believe that I am leaving, but stepping out in faith, getting out of the boat, is what I have to do.
