A while back I wrote about that famous scene in the Gospels where Jesus comes walking on the water in the midst of a storm to his disciples huddled terrified in a boat, and Peter tried his hand at water-walking too (Walking on Water). I noticed 3 things in Peter’s successful adventure: his chutzpah, the divine go-ahead, and his reckless obedience. Most of us will probably never actually get to stroll across a lake without the help of some floatation device, but we’ve all got our own version of tempestuous seas to deal with. And our biggest hurdle in becoming good at water-walking is almost always taking that initial step out of the boat. It’s the first — and maybe the biggest — test of who succeeds and who doesn’t: who’s got the guts to try? And the invisible ropes that keep people tied to the safety and comfort of the boat are their fears: fear of looking foolish, and fear of failing. Fear is natural. Everybody has it; everybody has to deal with it. But if we want to be like Peter, we can’t let our fears stop us. We’ve got to overcome them or remain permanently stuck where we are.

A few weeks ago, my pastor asked me to do something. Actually, after he casually mentioned one day a new program he wanted to implement, I grabbed the initiative and asked if I could help with it. I have to admit that thoughts of looking presumptuous crossed my mind. We hadn’t known each other very long, and it wasn’t like he was asking for help; it was just a plan for the future. And how do you tell someone you think that job has your name written all over it without sounding a bit boastful or with an ego that could stand some readjusting? But sensing that this project was something related to my particular gifts and calling, I summoned my chutzpah and made the offer. A few days later, after I assume some prayerful consideration, he told he felt I was the right man for the job.

Okay, great. Now I’m stuck; no backing out now. I was excited about the prospect: a new door, a new opportunity, room for growth, and a bold step in the direction I’m looking to take my life. But I was (and am) also terrified. It’s going to take a lot of work on my part; it’s going to take a lot of time, and it’s going to be inconvenient. And it could bomb. I could fail miserably. Then, not only would I look a little foolish, but it could also throw open the door for a lot of confusion and self-doubt about my abilities, my gifts, my calling, and my dreams for the future. In reality, it may be no big deal, but from my perspective here and now, at the very beginning of this journey, it has the intimidating look and feel of my own personal little stormy sea. Do I step out of the boat and risk putting my weight on that one foot dangling in the water, or do I jerk back, withdraw my offer, and pretend like it all never happened?

But I’ve been asking God for bigger things, for a life that is more impactful, more helpful, and more fulfilling. How ever this thing may ultimately turn out, I’m committed to doing it. And if I fail, I fail. But I will fail spectacularly and aggressively. And if I succeed, well, I’ll have taken that long sought after “next step” into my future, others will be better trained and equipped to deal with their own gifts and callings, even more people will be touched in turn by them, and God’s presence and power will penetrate more aggressively on this planet.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing, and forceful people lay hold of it” (Mt 11:12) — but only if we overcome our fear of failing and take that first tenuous step out of the boat.

Locomotion: the ability or power to move from place to place

There’s nothing more tantalizing than a half-accomplished goal.  You’ve made significant progress toward the end, you can even see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But you’re not there yet.  Somehow that tunnel exit seems to get farther and farther away. And after all this time, you’re still in the middle, still not done, still have not seen your dream or expectations fulfilled.

I’m still dealing with this cold-thing. It’s been going on for 3 weeks.  It’s not anywhere near being the full annoyance of a regular cold; no constantly dripping nose, no continuous coughing, no energy-draining achiness or congestion.  Yet there’s still this trace of throat irritation that refuses to go away.  And, frankly, it’s been bugging me — beyond the minor physical discomfort.  It’s been like a weight around the neck of my faith.  Where’s my full healing?!

As I was talking this out with God this morning, the thought came to me that I haven’t been persistent in my resistance.  You know, the Krav Maga rule of using any available tool as a weapon.  I’d reached a point of near-comfortable compromise.  I wasn’t hurting, I was functional, the sore throat was barely noticeable except when I get up in the morning before my first cup of coffee.  I’d become complacent.  As for fighting on two fronts, I’d stopped being diligent with the vitamins and echinacea (physical aspect), and I’d grown lax in speaking Scripture to myself — and to it (spiritual aspect).  And as a rule, if you don’t continue to work out, if you are not persistent in your training and conditioning, you become weaker. You lose your advantage, and your enemy can more easily get the upper hand. (Krav Maga again.)

Of course, this is just a wimpy real-life illustration.  The principle is true across the board for all kinds of situations where reality hasn’t quite lined up with a promise God gave you, where faith hasn’t yet turned into fact.  As my pastor recently said in one of his sermons, “the gap between vision and reality is filled by commitment.”  Commitment, persistence, is the driving force to move you from faith to fact, from what you’re believing to its accomplishment.

1. Persistence in faith: continually, aggressively reminding yourself of God’s promise, speaking the Truth (God’s truth, with a capital T) to yourself and to the mountain in your way.  Reality is subject to change.  The entire universe (including your tiny circumstances) is subject to change.  Everything is.  Except God and his Word.  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words shall not pass away”  (Lk 21:33; Is 40:8)   “Facts” are temporary. Truth is eternal.  And if we are persistent enough in the Truth, that Truth will ultimately change those facts.  And frankly, as puny human beings who constantly get distracted and lose faith, we need to constantly remind ourselves — provoke ourselves — with the Truth to keep us focused in the right direction.

2. Persistence in action.  Same principles over and over: Faith without works is dead.  We need to constantly be pulling the triggers in our natural circumstances, doing our part to help release God’s power.  We rely on God’s power for results, but he will not do our job for us.  That’s why we can’t afford to grow lax.  “Be not weary in well-doing for in due season you will reap a harvest if you faint not” (Gal 6:9).

Persistence in faith is not denying the existence of facts that contradict it.  Faith is the internal chutzpah to stare in the face of facts and say “Nevertheless!”   Like Abraham in the Old Testament.  God made outlandish promises to him (and you think your dreams are big?), but Abraham was old and childless.  Nevertheless, “he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead … yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God” (Rom 4:19-20). 

Abraham is our model. He was a man of faith and a man of action.  He knew the key: he didn’t hide from the facts; he faced them.  And persistently praised God for a reality that had not yet materialized — and was actually impossible.  He was persistent in faith.  And although we are not told specifically, I bet Abraham never stopped loving his wife Sarah, never stopped trying to have a son, as God promised.  Eventually, even he grew impatient and tried an alternative solution with Hagar to change his facts.  And there were consequences for his overstepping.  But ultimately his persistence paid off.  And every nation on earth has been touched as a result.

So, when we’re stuck in the middle of a seemingly endless tunnel between a promise and reality, between faith and fact, persistence is the locomotion that ultimately gets us there.

Just something to consider over your morning coffee …

For a while now, I’ve been sensing a trend in myown spiritual life.  When I spend time with God, I often walk away with some impressions about assertiveness, passivity, “chutzpah” — similar concepts around the theme that God wants us to take a more active role in our own lives.  So often we slip to one extreme or the other: we either ignore God entirely, pursuing our own goals and desires, trying to do everything in our own strength, or we settle into times of false piety where we place everything in God’s hands, sit back in wait-mode, and become passive observers, letting the random winds of life carry us where they will.

There is the middle ground I believe we are supposed to occupy.  Christians live in two realms simultaneously. We are flesh and blood, and we live in a material world.  And we are spirit beings, existing in a realm more receptive to divine influence — and in contact with other evil spiritual forces which oppose God and us.  This is not some intellectual or philosophical perspective; it is real life, and is so natural that most times we are hardly aware of it.  Real life is such that as we go through our day-to-day routines, we are constantly confronted with challanges, trials, battles, pains, and sufferings. And if we are to be overcomers, if we are to win any of these battles, we must fight them on both fronts: physical and spiritual. 

Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art, a ferocious hand-to-hand combat form of self-defense.  It was developed in the 1930s to help protect the Jewish community in Czecholslavakia from Nazi thugs. Later, its inventor brought it Palestine during the British Mandate and introduced it to the Haganah, the Jewish underground army there, where it has since become the official unarmed-combat system of Israeli Special Forces units.   Its basic principles are simple:

• do not get hurt
• go from defense to attack as quickly as possible
• do as much damage to the attacker as quickly as possible
• attack the opponent’s vulnerable points
• use any available objects as weapons
• be constantly aware of everything that is happening around you.

This type of defense tactic seems appropriate to Christian life because it focuses on fighting under worst-case conditions — like so much we find ourselves caught up in.  It assumes the enemy is out to destroy you and that you must do whatever it takes to defeat him and remain unharmed. And it is particularly aggressive.  How is this Christian?  Jesus warned us that we should expect trouble in this life, and he informed us of our enemy’s mission: to steal, kill, and destroy (John 16:33; 10:10).  We ARE on the defensive.  We must expect to be attacked.  And Jesus’ own life demonstrates the seriousness of his own work to break the power of the enemy. “God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Like Jesus, our mission is to go around doing good and freeing others from the oppression of the enemy — beginning with ourselves.  God planned these missions for us long in advance (Eph 2:10), and it’s time we stopped being the passive victims of chaos and trouble, and become the forceful agents of his Kingdom he designed us to be.

For me, this is going to be an experiment in spiritual growth, an adventure.  I’ll try to post specific examples of what problem I’m attacking, and what weapons I’m using against it.  And I invite you to join in.  Post your own battle plans and strategies.  What weapons work for you?

We need to begin looking at specific areas of our lives where we are being attacked: health, finances, relationships, personal issues, our jobs, our hopes and dreams, anything else that is out of order in our lives or the lives of those around us.  And working in both the physical and spiritual realms, we need to use the objects at hand as weapons to turn the situation around: faith and works, prayer and action.  We need to see how we can move from a defensive to offensive posture as quickly as possible.  And expect God to meet us there in the struggle.  He never rewards passivity; we cannot expect his power to be released if we’re just sitting patiently with our hands folded.  “Forceful men lay hold of it.” 

Now, when you encounter your next problem, shout to yourself “Krav Maga”. Think street-fighting.  Think “go on the attack, turn the tables as quickly as possible”.  And “use whatever is available, both physical and spiritual.”   We walk in both worlds, we must use the tools of both worlds.

This scene fascinates me because it is saturated with spiritual truth, and so poignantly illustrates our often-times tenuous walk of faith. It’s a great visual reminder for me when I’ve lost my excitement about life and my optimism over where my life is headed. At a quick glance, the story suggests three points, three requirements, for walking in the realm of the extraordinary.

The first thing that strikes me is Peter’s audacity. The other disciples are still trembling in the boat, still recovering from their terror at the sight of what they think to be a ghost approaching them. And I’m sure they’re completely exhausted from their long day and straining at the oars in those rough waters. Peter alone overcomes his initial panic and exhaustion, and has the chutzpah to demand to do the miraculous, to be allowed to walk on the water also. “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Many of us with our religious upbringing might cringe at such presumption: demand anything of Jesus? Wouldn’t we expect a rebuke for our lack of humility: “Hey, you are not me, just because I do this doesn’t mean you should”? Or, “settle down, just be quiet, stop trying to show off”? It is significant I think, and says much about the heart of Jesus, that he not only does not rebuke Peter, he actually encourages him. This is the first requirement. If we want the extraordinary in our lives, we have to have a shameless desire for it.

And Jesus calls Peter out: “Come.” This is the second requirement: getting God’s go-ahead, making sure we have the divine commission. Peter didn’t just jump out onto the water on his own, although that certainly would be consistent with his personality. He asked for Jesus to command him. At least he knew enough by then to wait until being given permission, and with that permission came the authority and ability. This is what separates presumption from confidence, and is the key to our success versus our humiliating failure. The divine command, the certainty that God wants it for us also.

Although we know that Peter does climb out of the boat, something we often overlook is the courage — even recklessness — it took to obey. And that’s requirement number three. Peter follows through. He climbs out of the boat and takes that first shakey step, putting his foot on churning water as though it were solid. And amazingly, it is! That took a lot of guts. And I’m sure the other disciples were just as surprised to see him succeed.

Unfortunately, most of us never get to that point in our own journies. We seldom experience that exhiliration and sheer amazement at doing something utterly unimaginable. Many of us will be like the other disciples, too tired, too worn out, or too intimidated by our circumstances to even dream of doing anything other than remaining in the safety of the boat. But Lord, give us the character of Peter! Give us the wild, unrealistic audacity to want to do impossible things.

Great achievement for the Kingdom requires bold dreams, the confidence of God’s will, and reckless obedience. And for me, this is the powerful message of this passage.

If you want to walk on water, you must first get out of the boat. And before that can happen, you have to have the chutzpah to ask.

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“The LORD appeared to Solomon and said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you’” (1 Kings 3:5).
“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance …” (Psalm 2:8)
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7).Read Matthew 14:22-33