Step Out of the Boat: Developing Faith to Walk on Water

Matthew 14:24-31

"But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

We've read the account in Matthew countless times to illustrate the need to trust more fully in the Lord. The general theme we take when we study this event is the fact that Peter lacked faith. We know he did look away from the Savior and that he doubted, and as a result he began to sink. However, I want to switch gears a little bit and look at this story a little differently. While Peter did have a moment of weakness and doubt, we fail to acknowledge that he was with 11 other apostles that night, and he was the only one who walked on water apart from the Savior. It was Peter who called upon the Lord and accepted the invitation to "come". He had the faith to get out of the boat and walk to Christ while the storm continued to rage.  I've thought about Peter a lot. How many times in our lives do we not have enough faith to simply "leave the boat"? Too often we are much more like the 11 other apostles who stayed in the boat for the fear of "sinking" and a lack of trust in Christ. We spend time focusing on other insignificant circumstances or justifying our specific situations as to why we can't complete a faith-fulfilled task the Lord has invited us to take part in.The Spirit has helped me come up with three steps on how we can develop and continue to grow faith that will "walk on water".

Step 1: Ask the Lord; Listen and ACT on His invitations to "come". 

Peter asked the Lord, "If it be Thou, bid me to come unto Thee." He then waited for the Lord to answer, and then acted on the invitation having full faith in Christ. It just might be that this is why Peter and not the other disciples was invited to come out on the water. Simply because he asked. We must never be afraid to ask our Heavenly Father for opportunities to grow our faith. He is eagerly waiting to answer our prayers. But we  must be ready and so committed to Him that we are ready to follow whatever answer He gives us. (Moroni 10:4, "real intent" means we really intend to act.)

Alma 32:21 teaches us that "faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, therefore if ye have faith, ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Faith is having complete trust and confidence even when we don't have physical evidence. It's not knowing and not seeing, believing that though we don't understand all things, our Heavenly Father does. Faith is ALWAYS expressed by obedience to Christ. It can be extremely difficult to show hope for something we cannot see. When Christ gave the invitation to "come", Peter immediately got out of the boat without hesitation. Christ didn't show Peter a hardened path in the water first or give him a detailed plan or explanation of how everything was going to work. This is what I find so incredibly admirable about Peter's faith. Though the Savior chose not to explain things in full detail first, Peter didn't stop to reconsider or ask Christ to provide some more details. He didn't require any further assurance. He acted on things he could not yet see.

One of my favorite stories from my family history comes from the life of my great-grandma, Leah Nichols. When her son, my grandpa George was very young, he became sick with scarlet fever. It became so severe that he lost the use of his legs entirely. My heart aches as I imagine the countless nights as a young mother she must have spent on her knees trying to understand this trial. One night, Leah woke up from having a dream that she needed to buy George a tricycle. She thought that seemed a little silly, seeing as her son couldn't even walk, let alone use a tricycle. The dream came again and the prompting obviously came from the Spirit. With nothing but faith in the Lord, Leah went out to find work and began saving her money. After weeks of working, she finally bought the tricycle. George didn't sit on the tricycle and magically start peddling, Leah had to exercise even more prolonged faith. She spent hours on her knees with her hands placed over George's feet and moved them in a peddling motion. Eventually, George gained enough strength in his right leg to peddle on his own, leaving his left leg dragging behind. And with time and I'm sure countless prayers and fasting, enough strength was developed in his left leg and he was able to peddle the tricycle on his own. Until the day he passed away, I always knew my grandfather as a walking man, he was the evidence of what happens when we exercise a little faith.

God didn't show Leah everything, but He showed her enough. We worship a God of miracles. Be we cannot take part in those miracles if we aren't willing to leave behind the safety and comfort of the boat. So, let's recap. Step #1, faith that walks on water asks the Lord, listens and ACTS on His invitations to "come".

Step 2: Act with trust in the Father, His abilities and His will, rather than our own.

After taking the leap of faith to leave the boat, Peter did something no man apart from Christ had ever done. He walked on water. An absolute miracle took place. This was possible because Peter had his eyes set on Christ, knowing only through Him could he have the ability to walk on water. It's easy to look at all the abilities we don't have. Sometimes we think it would be better, or at least easier to stay in the boat, simply because we don't posses the abilities needed for what God has asked of us. We may feel overwhelmed when we are given a calling, feeling that someone else is better suited for the job, we may feel unready to get married, or we may feel that we don't have enough knowledge to become parents or raise a family. It is important to remember that Peter did not have the ability to walk on water until that night. He didn't have the ability after that night. The next time he went fishing, he couldn't walk on water. It was a special talent provided by the Lord for a special occasion and a special purpose. God has an endless supply of endless ability. Do not think that He will run out or that you are not worth Him supplying those abilities in your life.

On the other hand, we cannot simply think we have "enough" ability that we can accomplish things the Lord has asked of us on our own. We surely need His help. Part of trusting the Savior is knowing that His atonement will enable us to do things beyond our mortal capabilities. I learned this lesson while struggling in the early months of my mission trying to learn a foreign language. Though I thought my heart was right, I feared grammatical errors and man. After hours spent on my knees (and lots of crying, cause that's what sister missionaries do when they are frustrated.) I stopped caring about mistakes and started worrying more about inviting the Spirit into my life so he could teach me. Within a few short but faith-driven months I was comfortably speaking the language.

Faith always seeks the Lord first and to do His will. The goal of faith is and must ALWAYS be obedience to His will. faith is not a tool to achieve our own agenda. In my experience with trying to learn Spanish, I was telling God how to answer my prayers and how to do His work. I'm stating the obvious when I say this is not how it works. Recap. Step #2, faith that walks on water acts with trust in the Father, His abilities and His will rather than our own.

Step 3: Keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

Howard W. Hunter said the following:

"While Peter's eye was fixed on his Lord, the wind might have tossed his hair and the spray might have drenched his robes. But all was well. Only when with wavering faith he removed his glance from the Master look at the furious waves and the black gulf beneath him. Only then did he begin to sink...It is my firm belief that if as individual people, as families, communities and nations, we could, like Peter, fix our eyes on Jesus, we too might walk triumphantly over the swelling waves of disbelief and remain unterrified amid the rising winds of doubt. But if we turn away our eyes from Him in whom we must believe, as it is so easy to do and the world is so much tempted to do, if we look to the power and fury of those terrible and destructive elements around us rather than to Him who can help and save us, then we shall inevitably sink in an area of conflict, sorrow and despair."

Why is it that when the storms are raging, we look away from our Savior? That is the time we need Him very most. Why is it that we try and face these storms on our own? Sometimes, I think we are the cause and the very reason we are sinking. Battles with a crisis of faith, accepting doctrine, forgiving one who has wronged us and every other countless trial we might have encountered or certainly will encounter in mortality should NEVER be faced without the strength of our Savior who has overcome all things.

Too often, we just make dumb excuses as to why it is easier to stay in the boat. We concentrate so much on the fear of sinking that we miss out on opportunities to take part in the experiences and miracles that will amplify our faith. We cannot focus on our weaknesses, lack of abilities, limitations, or difficult circumstances. When we do this, we are basically telling Christ, "sorry, I can't." Peter was willing to leave the relative comfort of the boat in order to come unto Christ. Unwillingness to give up things we currently enjoy keeps many of us from reaching our divine potential as sons and daughters of God. It is much easier to stay comfortable where we are. Walking on water requires that we make difficult decisions. Building our faith may require some stumbling, awkward and humbling experiences. When we walk on water, we are walking away from what we find natural and comfortable and walking towards our highest goal in life: to become closer to the Savior, and eventually become as He is.

There will be times when we act in faith and find ourselves struggling or "beginning to sink". If our hearts are right with God and we sincerely desire to do His well, we can always trust the extended hands of our loving Savior to hold us up. Notice the scriptures say the Lord reached out to Peter "immediately", and only let Peter "begin" to sink. I love painting that image in my mind. Christ will never let us fail if we are trusting in Him. Surely He will let us learn on our own and may let us struggle, but He will ALWAYS be there with His arms extended with love. Step #3, keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

Leave your boat, remember God has an endless supply of talents and abilities He is willing to provide, and never forget His endless love towards His children. We can do amazing things when our trust is in Him who has overcome all things. May we all develop faith one day that will walk on water.