Our Breaking Point

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

We all know the story. Storm at sea, Jesus walks on water, Peter makes the choice to leave the boat, Peter sinks, Jesus helps him, Jesus calms the storm. Great story right? Yes but, there’s more to it. So much more to it than just what we are reading.

It is and always will be a parallel to our life’s. We are, in a since, Peter. Standing in a small boat out at sea in the midst of a storm. And there’s Jesus beckoning us forward. So do we stay in the safety of the boat or do we go out into the storm?

First off what exactly is it that we are doing when we “step out of the boat”? We’re answering the “call”, as some might call it. I’ll say it time and time again but I truly believe that every single person has a greater purpose. It is simply a matter of whether they choose to find what that purpose is or not. It comes down to whether or not they step out of the boat.

Sure Peter stepped out of the boat which is great but he started to sink. Well he lost faith. Which honestly I’m not sure I know someone who wouldn’t have. I mean walking on water is quite a feat to accomplish. See there are people all over the world who have sought out what that “greater purpose” is. They freely profess their faith and some may even go out as missionaries. All of this is great. But the same thing will happen to all of them. Persecution.

There’s a set of books called Jesus Freaks. They are a collection of stories about different people who have went out into the world and tried to make a difference or to fulfill their “greater purpose”. Each story tells of how these people were persecuted for their beliefs and some died. But that is what it comes down to. Each and everyone of them took a stand for their faith. When their moment had come and everyone mocked them they took charge and stood up for what they were doing. If that meant dying then so be it for they knew that death would only bring about eternity in heaven with their creator. That’s why their stories were in these books. They were Jesus Freaks.

See if you step out of the boat, if you really want to be what you’re meant to be. The moment will come when you have to make that choice. Will you be a Jesus Freak? Or just another face in the crowd. Will that breaking point break you? Or will you break through?

But see that’s not it. There’s still more to this story. Once Peter began to sink he begged for help. Jesus saved him, they went back in the boat and the storm ceased. Sure you could go out into the world and want to do all of this great stuff but don’t think for one second that you’re going to do this alone. We, like Peter and many others, will need help from God. It’s made very clear in the Bible that being alone is not good. Eve was created to give Adam company.

This hold true with everything. We’ve all heard the old saying. “There’s no I in Team.” You’re not going to win a championship alone. Or say with the presidential race going on. None of the candidates are going at it alone. They all have their campaign managers and family members with them. And as Mike Huckabee makes very clear. God.

So yes Peter stepped out of the boat. And yes he did sink but he had Jesus with him the entire time. So step out of the boat, break the mold of the “Sunday Christians”* and go out into the storm. Just make sure you’re not alone.

* “Sunday Christians” – Subject I’ll be sure to cover in time.