WWJW - Where would Jesus walk 

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up to a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “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!” Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:22-32 (NIV)

When I read this passage of Jesus walking on water, I realized that what actually started as a vision problem from the disciples turned into a faith problem. They thought Jesus was a ghost because they couldn’t really see, and it was nighttime. But that is not what Jesus challenged them with. He said, “You of little faith.”

We have to walk into the vision God has for us. We have to get out of the boat. As for us, none of us have perfect vision. None of us have perfect eyesight.

When I think about that and as I started looking up the definition of vision, I noticed a definition that I thought was powerful. It says that vision is “a mental image of what the future will be or could be.” I think that “could be” is a critical phrase there. Yes, it COULD BE that God is going to give you this amazing vision, but you’re going to have to have faith for it to be truly great. You will have to practice obedience and discipline for it to be developed. You are going to need confidence in WHO God is and WHAT he is going to do in order for that vision to happen. It’s what COULD BE.

2 Corinthians 2:5 says, “We walk by faith and not by sight”. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s not scary, but it does mean we will need dependency on God.

I think about that moment with the disciples on the boat, and what really convicted me as I read was that everyone in the boat saw the same thing. It was nighttime for everyone, it was windy for everyone, and the waves were big for everyone, but one of them walked on water that night, even though all of them had the same opportunity.

We could all get the same vision from God, we could all be hearing the exact words and have the same vision, yet only some of us walk on water. Why was it different for Peter that night? I think it has to do with the conversation Peter and Jesus had right after Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid.” Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you, command me to me to come to you on the water.” I think this was such an important statement.

I think back to the things that I ask of Jesus. Had that been me on that boat, seeing something blurry out there wondering if it’s Jesus, I feel like what I would have said would have been, “Hey Jesus, come a little closer so I can see that it’s you. If I see that it’s you, then I’ll walk out to you.”

Peter didn’t say that. He said, “If it is you, command me to come to you” Yes, it’s dark. Yes, it’s windy. Yes, it doesn’t make sense. But Peter knew if he heard his voice, he would go. God is inviting Peter into a moment, and he doesn’t want to miss it. We have to pay attention to His voice, even when we can’t see it clearly.

Psalm 19:105 says, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet.”
Psalm 19 says, “Your commandment is enlightening to my eye.”

We need the faith to trust that his word is our vision in times that we cannot see clearly.

You might be thinking, “Well, I don’t have good vision, I don’t have much inspiration, and I don’t really have a word.” But I am not talking right now about an individual-specific word. I am talking about THE Word being your vision.

The Bible is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. These commandments are enlightening to the eye, and everyone, just like the people in that boat, has the same opportunity to read those words. But the difference will be for the people who believe these words, take Him at his word, and walk out of the boat to TRUST Him on the water.

Verse 30 says, “But when he (Peter) saw the wind, he began to sink and cry out” Now I relate to that part so much. It was actually the moment that he really got the vision that he began to panic.

I feel like a lot of us can relate to that. We pray for vision, get the vision, and then we start to see what’s really happening and think, “Wow that is much bigger than who I am.” Even when we see it, we can’t fully comprehend it. What we really have to know when we’re walking into something with God is that even though we might be able to see a little bit, his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and he is going to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever dream of.

He is so much bigger. So, we might see the moment, but we can’t fully comprehend it because it’s something He can only do at that moment.

So many people in the bible saw the vision very clearly but couldn’t comprehend it, yet they trusted him at his word. Think about
Noah. He didn’t see a thing but started building an ark.
Joshua. He saw a huge wall but walked around it 7 times.
Sarah and Abraham. Saw their age but stepped out of their tent.
Moses. Saw an inadequate man who was not good at speaking, but he heard his name being called from a burning bush and returned.
Peter. He saw the impossible but heard the invitation and he walked on water.

They didn’t see it clearly; they couldn’t always comprehend it, but they obeyed his word because they recognized his voice.

For us to do this, we need to be familiar with his voice. If we want to start following the direction of the word, we have to start trusting the word. To trust it, we need to have confidence in it, and to have confidence, we have to know it and be in relationship with it.

We are always waiting for that last bit of clarity. If only he would come a little closer to the boat if only I could see it a little clearer. But we have to trust beyond the clarity and beyond the vision; we need to trust the word before we have the full picture of what it’s going to look like.

If I had known my life's full picture, I probably wouldn’t have started walking. But it’s when I walk with him, these miraculous things happen and come to life.