Toes in the Sand 2: Feet on the Water
Again, this week, I am interrupting my Lessons from the Gospels study to bring you another message from the Toes in the Sand women’s retreat that I attended, April 24-27 in Crytal Beach, Texas. Although, the lessons from the Gospels and from the beach very much converge here.
Back as far as the book of Job we see that God alone is the One who walks on water.
Job 9:8 [NKJV] He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;
Because He created the heavens and the earth, the natural laws and principles that He crafted into existence do not apply. But is it possible for a human being to walk on water?
Recently, I posted a blog titled “Jesus Walks on Water, Peter Doesn’t”. In it, I point out that Peter could not walk on water because he focused on the storm and not the One who controls it.
But Peter DID walk on water, didn’t he? At least for a short period of time. Let’s not let that part get lost on us.
Matthew 14:28-29 [NKJV] 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
We don’t know how many steps Peter took toward Jesus before fear got the better of him, but I know that he got out of the boat and walked on water.
This scripture came to mind again during the Toes in the Sand retreat, during some of our “Soul Time” – time devoted to meditation and soul searching. As I headed out to sit on the porch where I could see the waves and smell the ocean while meditating on our latest discussion, the song “Oceans” was playing softly in the background. That is one of my very favorite praise songs.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to hear it from the porch, so I looked it up on YouTube and played it on my phone while I was meditating. It starts out like this:
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown
Where feet may fail
What? Wait! Does Jesus call us to walk on water? Are we supposed to walk on water? Or was that just the one time and just for Peter?
Sweet sisters, we walk on water every time we overcome a sin by His power. We walk on water every time we step out in faith, not knowing what will happen but trusting in Him anyway. We walk on water when we remain faithful even when the answer from God is “no, my child” or “not now” to a heartfelt, faith-filled prayer and we continue to trust in His will. Why?
Mark 10:27 [NKJV] “But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Why is that a rich person would struggle to enter the Kingdom?
Because the kind of faith, strength, growth required to give up riches for God is not possible without walking on spiritual water holding onto the hand of Jesus. I would say that the same is true of struggles with addiction, pride, gossip and any other sin.
True change for anyone is not possible without walking on the water of faith while holding Jesus’ hand. The tougher the challenge the rougher the water and, therefore, the more focused on Jesus we need to be and the tighter we need to hold onto Him.
Jesus spoke a very similar phrase during what I would call the most pivotal night of His human life:
Mark 14:36 [NKJV] 36 And He said, "Abba, Father, all things [are] possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You [will]."
God called Jesus to walk on the stormy path laid out for Him from the foundation of the world [Re. 13:8]: that of a brutal and lonely death. The Father sent angels to minister to Jesus as He faced the fact that this cup would not be removed, and He would once again walk on water (spiritually speaking) – doing something that no other in heaven or on earth was capable of doing.
Mark 10:27 [NKJV] “But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."
2 Corinthians 5:7 [NKJV] reminds us that: “…we walk by faith, not by sight”. Because He has gone back to the Father, we don’t see Jesus on the water with our natural eyes. We only see Him with eyes of faith. By faith we also reach out our hands to Him, so that we can walk on whatever choppy water the Father bids us to traverse.
So, we can also find the key to walking on water in the chorus of “Oceans”:
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
Where is your Savior calling you to walk on water, sweet sister? Is He calling you to take the risk of inviting someone to church? To go into full-time ministry or become a missionary? Get involved in supporting single mom’s or immigrants or disabled veterans or the homeless? Change careers?
Is He calling you to remain obedient in a situation when taking the easy road of giving up or giving in would be far less taxing? Is He calling you to be silent in a situation where you want to speak up and wait for Him to intervene?
Sweet sisters, I encourage you to listen to the still, small voice of God’s guidance, and then take Jesus’ hand, get out of the boat, and walk on the water.
You CAN walk on water holding His hand. He is bidding you to do just that.
I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the chat, or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org