There is a great quote that says, “If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.”

It’s referring to Matthew 14:22-33 when Jesus was walking on water and invited Peter to do the same thing:

“Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus said, “Come ahead.”

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”

Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand.”

I love that Peter was bold enough to ask God for an invitation to join Him in such a supernatural experience. And that Jesus replied, “Come ahead.”

I recently received an amazing opportunity to attend a conference in another country. I felt so strongly prompted to attend, and I couldn’t get past that feeling. But in my natural thinking I thought it was rather crazy to even consider that God would be leading me to go, and rather last minute, too.

And yet I couldn’t shake it.

So my husband and I started praying. And praying…and praying. We asked some close friends to pray with us about it.

Over the days that I was praying, I realized that I had been asking God for blatant, out of the blue confirmations that were so big and obvious I couldn’t miss that it was God. But what I got instead was a steady stream of smaller confirmations. Not fireworks, but simply “Come ahead.”

God speaks to us in different ways at different times. Sometimes it is in a dramatic way like Paul’s conversion, and sometimes it’s in a whisper like how He spoke to Elijah in the desert.

The important part is to be open to listen for how God is speaking to us in each moment. It may not be in the way we are expecting.

If you are expecting a shout you might miss a whisper.

So, once it seemed pretty darn clear that God was saying to me, “Come ahead”, I realized I didn’t know if I actually wanted to get out of the boat. I mean, the boat can feel safe and comfortable, can’t it? It has a nice view and sitting there doesn’t require any effort on my part; no risk or exercising of my faith.

When I really thought about it, I realized I was hesitating for two reasons:

1. Fear of stepping out. What if I sink?

2. Not feeling sure that I wanted to make the effort because it wouldn’t be easy.

I decided that those weren’t good enough reasons to stay in the boat.

God could have easily closed one or all doors to this opportunity but He didn’t. And He seemed to be saying, “Come ahead.” So, I made the decision not just to step out in faith but to leap out and move forward. Since then I have received many prophetic words of confirmation and blessings from others regarding this opportunity.

In other words, I’ve stepped out of the boat and I’m walking.

My question for all of us today is…What is keeping you in the boat when Jesus is actually calling you to walk on water?

Could your hesitation be from fear? Lies? Doubt that Jesus is really saying to you, “come ahead”?

With great risk comes great reward. I’m not talking about taking absurdly unwise risks, of course. But if we want to experience all that God has for us on this earth, there is going to be risk involved. Period. There are going to be steps of faith—sometimes even huge, flying leaps of faith—required of us.

I’ve decided I’m up for the risk because I want to be a part of something greater than myself.

What about you?