Day 345: Step Out of the Boat (Take Your Shot)

Matthew 14:28-29

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

Today I want to talk about the simple fact that Peter got out of the boat. This is a well known story, one of the more famous passages in the bible, we all know that Jesus and Peter walked on water. People who aren’t Christian know this. A lot of time when we read this story we talk about how Peter took his eyes off Jesus and started to sink. Overlooking the fact that, Peter got out of the boat! He stepped out of a boat on to the water and walked. How many of us can say that we have done that, not in a literal sense, but we ask God for something and when it comes we get scared because we have to step out of our comfort zone a bit. We have to take a step off of our safety net and walk towards Jesus.  Sometimes even when Jesus is calling us out of the boat we are reluctant to step out. If Peter never stepped out of the boat he would have never walked on water. Too many of us are missing our “walking on water” moments because we are afraid to step out of the boat. We’re too focused on the fact that we might sink so in order to protect ourselves we stay in the boat where it’s safe. People can talk about how Peter took His eyes off Jesus and was afraid that’s when He began to sink. but at least he got out of the boat, whether he sank or not, he stepped out of the boat, and Jesus was there to pick him up. At least he took a chance. Even if he did sink, it would have never happened if he stayed on the boat. We can grow in our moments of sinking as well. He saw the opportunity and took it, some of us can have an opportunity staring us right in the face but the fear of failure is stopping of from attempting to succeed. Peter wanted to walk on water so he had to step out of the boat and walk, that was the only way he could do it. There was no other way. If we want to walk on water, the only way to do it is to step out off the boat. Sitting there wishing isn’t going to get us anywhere. Why do we sit there hoping and wishing for something to come to us when it’s right there, all we have to do is walk towards it.

We are too focused on the fact that Peter sank. We allow that to blind us to the real miracle here, Peter walked on water. He walked! On water! I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this but I have and I sank the first step I took, but this man walked on water because when Jesus told Him to come he stepped out of the boat and did it. Sometimes we will not know what it’s like to rise if we are never in a position of sinking.

Sometimes the people we have to prove wrong when it comes to what we can do, is ourselves. We often put limitations on ourselves. As my semester is coming to an end we are doing a lot of reflections and talking about our growth. I have come to the conclusion that the only reason I cannot do things is because I never give myself the chance to do it. I took a ballet class this semester and  was very reluctant to do it but a friend of mine talked me into doing it. I was reluctant to taking the ballet class because I was scared, I never liked ballet because I was never good at it. But I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give myself a chance, and see what happens. The things we can do when we just give ourselves a chance can be miraculous. When we take the limits off of ourselves and trust in the gifts God has given us, and just trust in the person God made us to be we will end up surprising ourselves. Even if we do fall, even if we do sink, we will be okay.

All this to say, give yourself a chance. Take a shot, step out of the boat, don’t worry about sinking, just walk. If you sink Jesus is right there to pick you up.

Reflection

Take the time to go over and think about what we discussed today. Think about how you have been limiting yourself and make a decision not to do that. Whatever is going on in your life and you are stuck or afraid, step out of the boat.

Prayer Time

Take the time to pray about what we discussed today. Take the time to talk to God about getting out of the boat and take a step of faith tonight.

I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing day! Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 346!

Day 338: Show Up!

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Contrary to the popular belief, acting is hard. There’s so much work that goes into it, more than just reading a script and saying lines, anybody can do that. But a real actor makes you believe the lines, makes you feel what they are talking about, connecting with the audience and the other characters. We put all the work in behind the scenes so the performance you see looks real and effortless. With that being said, one of the best things my teacher has said to me was, ‘half the job of an actor is to just show up, and then you keep showing up.’ Meaning, we have to be there of we want to work we have to show up to rehearsal, ad before that we have to show up to the audition if we want the job. There are two points I want to make today. One being that if we want anything from God we have to make the effort to show up. The second being if we want anything out of life, we have to make the effort to show up.

Matthew 7:7 is a scripture that I have been hearing all my life. I have heard people talk about it in sermons, conversations, and bible studies. What I grew to understand about the scripture is that if we want something we have to ask. If we want the door to open we have to knock on it. If we want to find something we have to look for it. The scriptures are more literal sometimes than we think. A lot of times we think we are entitled to receive extra things from God so we do not ask. God has given us so much already that if He never does anything else He has done enough. We get to a point when we want the presence of God in our lives but we stop seeking His face. Or we want a door to open in our lives and we’re not knocking because we expect God to do exactly what we want when we want it. God will open doors in our lives but sometimes He wants to see that we have enough faith to knock, that we are willing to take a step, and sometimes that step is knocking on a door. This scripture is a testament that we give what we get, and in order to get something we have to give. We have to take the first step. God is already there waiting for us to show us, it’s us who keep Him waiting. We must make the decision to take the first step toward Him and see where it takes us.  

With that being said, we as humans sometimes forget that life is full of opportunities but only if we choose to take them. Our generation has been called entitled on many occasions, they say we think the world owes us something. While I disagree with that notion, I do believe that we must understand that things aren’t going to come knocking on our doors. God has blessed each and every one of us with a purpose and sometimes we use being called by God as an excuse as to why we can’t get up and do something. We sometimes use God’s calling on our lives as an excuse to do nothing or an excuse not to put any effort into our lives but expect so much out of it. What I’m saying is that God will open a door but He’s not going to walk through it for us. God took the first step by carving out a path for us we have to choose to walk it. As  performer one thing I know for a fact is that if I do not go the audition I will not get the part. If we do not first take a step we will never get to where we are going. If we do not at least knock on the door it will not be opened. If we never ask the question we’ll always sit wondering what the answer was.

All this to say, just show up. Make an effort to do something and not hide away. Show up in your relationship with God, take a step of faith towards Him and watch what He does. Show up for life, whatever you want, whatever God has called you to do or be, show up. It’s scary but it’s so worth it, because God is already there. He’s just waiting on us to show up, sometimes that’s all we have to do. We can’t flake on God, if we do, not only are flaking on Him but we’re flaking on ourselves.

Make the effort, just show up! Dare to make an effort.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to think about and pray about what we discussed today. Ask yourself if you are showing up in life, in your relationship with God. Take the time to talk to God about whatever you discovered today and whatever is on your heart.

I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 339!

Day 309: Don't Anticipate, Live

2 Kings 20:1-6

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” 2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. 4 But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’”

When I first read this story I was astounded, by the fact that God truly hears and honors the prayers of His people. I was also taken by Hezekiah's faith in God. But one thing I’d like to point out is that Hezekiah is one of the only people who had an idea of exactly when he was going to die. God told Hezekiah that He will add fifteen years to his life. Meaning that Hezekiah would die in fifteen years. Do you think he sat waiting for that day, he was going to die. Anticipating how he would die or having anxiety about not having more time? I do not think he did, while he loved his life I believe that he was in full knowledge that he would spend eternity with the Lord when his time here on earth was up.

Life is about so much more than living as long as possible it’s about living while we have it. Most of us have no clue of what is going to happen but we stress ourselves out worried about what could happen. Hezekiah knew what was going to happen and yet I’m sure that didn’t stop him from living His life that God had blessed him with. What a waste of time it would have been if Hezekiah sat anticipating what will happen after God has just given Him fifteen more years to live. What I’m getting at here is, we as people spend far too much time anticipating, and worrying, allowing our anxieties to stop us from living the life God has destined for us.  We stand there afraid to take a step because we don’t know what’s going to happen. We want to be in the know of everything before we do anything, but where is our faith. Where is the faith in God who knows everything so we don’t need all the info. God is greater and God is bigger. We cannot allow our fear of not being in control paralyze us. Living our lives this way is a waste of time. The beauty of living for God is that we don’t know what is going to happen we just have faith in whatever God is doing and wherever He is leading us. How many times have we professed our faith in God and asked Him to let His will be done in our lives yet we are afraid to take a step because we are not sure where our foot will land. When we truly have faith in God we will know and understand that He will not lead us anywhere that will harm us. We know that He will guide us to victory. We cannot sit trying to figure out what will happen, because while we’re doing that life is happening and passing us by. We’ve all sat at moments and watched life pass us by because we were afraid of what was going to happen next. If anything I know, the best moments in life are the spontaneous moments. The moments we just do something. God’s plan for us us very spontaneous, many things we never see coming but in the end we will understand why stepping out on faith is so important.

All this to say, live your life having faith in God, Walking every moment with Him, and not waiting until we know what is going to happen before we take a step. God reveals the plan as we go, so that way we cannot pick and choose and anticipate what is to come. Live life like we don't know what is going to happen because we don't and that's the beauty of it. Life is spontaneous, life is great but God is greater.

Reflection

1. How do you relate to what we discussed today?
2. Have you found yourself anticipating life?
3. How has this anticipation strained your relationship with God?

Prayer Time

Allow you answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Have a conversation with God about what we discussed today. Pour your heart out to the Lord.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 310!