A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers     

Matthew 14:28-30, “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.’” When Jim Burke became the head of a new products division at Johnson & Johnson, one of his first projects was the development of a children’s chest rub. The product failed miserably, and Burke expected that he would be fired. When he was called in to see the chairman of the board, however, he met a surprising reception. “Are you the one who just cost us all that money?” asked Robert Wood Johnson. “Well I just want to congratulate you. If you are making mistakes, that means you are taking risks, and we won’t grow unless you take risks.” Some years later, when Burke himself became chairman of J & J, he continued to spread that word. So often when reflecting upon the portion of scripture we use for our lesson today, we only focus on the near drowning of Peter. But what we overlook are two salient facts: (1) Peter did walk on the water. (2) The other disciples did not. Encouraged by the Lord’s simple invitation, “Come,” Peter left the confines of his comfort zone to “boldly go where no man had gone before”—to walk upon water. Yet the other disciples, no doubt intimidated by the present storm, as well as their mind of reason which discounted anyone from performing such an impossible feat, remained in the boat. Which is better—to walk on water and sink, or never walk at all? I believe the former. Each day, as the Lord beckoned Peter 20 centuries before, He beckons each of us, to move out of our comfort zone, into the realm of the unknown, to completely trust Him by faith. It wasn’t a risk for Jim Burke to try and fail. The greater risk was to never to try at all. Today, venture out of the comfort zone of your boat into a vast realm where all things are possible, and experience a new level of victory, sparked by a new level of faith for this and each new day.