Getting Out of the Boat

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap. Joshua 3:11-13

And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:28-31

We went over both of the above verses in our Bible Study tonight, and our leader, Michelle (who my friend, LP, and I call our own personal Beth Moore -- yes, she is that good!) used them to illustrate the fact that sometimes as Christians we have to trust in God even when it doesn't make sense to our human minds...

In the first verse, the Israelites were getting ready to cross the Jordan into the promised land. The Jordan was a huge river and was swollen with floods, but God told them to put their feet in the water, and the water would then stand in a heap so that they could get through. To you and me, that would just seem crazy -- how would all of those people get across so much water? But God knew that He was capable of making the water get out of the way, and that was precisely what He did.

In the second verse, Peter is asking the Lord to prove Himself by making Peter able to walk on the water like Jesus is doing. And He does it. At first Peter is fine. He is trusting in the Lord and walking on the water, but the minute he starts to have any doubts, he sinks. Had Peter kept his eye and trust on Jesus, he would have been fine.

These points stuck with me because The Farmer and I are at a point where we are being asked to get out of the boat, and we have decided to do it.

In my post to introduce you to The Farmer, I mentioned that he and I moved to my hometown a little less than two years after we got married. We did this for many reasons, not the least of which was that I was miserable living in the small town near his farm. We thought that we could make a better life for ourselves here in my hometown. So, we did it. We moved. And for a long time, it was the right decision, and we didn't look back.

However, about two years ago, I started to feel that the Lord was calling me to something different. I felt like He was telling me that it was time to go back to our first town. I spent a lot of time questioning Him -- Is that really what you're telling me, God? If so, could you please send me an engraved invitation or some obvious sign? I don't want to make the wrong choice here!

I felt pretty confident that God was leading us back, and at first we started to make plans for moving back, but then, like Peter, I looked down. I got scared -- what if it isn't You, after all, God, telling me to go? The reasons for not moving were plenty -- we had a ton of friends here, our kids had known the same kids since birth, we would never find a better church, and on and on.

We decided not to go.

Since then, the reasons for going have become much clearer. Raising three kids pretty much by myself is hard -- especially when I have a husband who is perfectly capable of helping except for his long work/commute schedule. Our family could spend so much more time together if we lived closer to The Farmer's farm. As a little boy, Bubba needs his father more and in a totally different way than the girls do. I thought of my father, who is also a farmer, and how he would feel if he had to live so far away from the farm -- or how he would feel if my brother chose to live so far away from the farm. I could go on and on.

I guess I pretty much got my engraved invitation.

After a lot of praying and talking, The Farmer and I officially decided to move. I can say that I am equal parts excited and scared to death. We have no idea what is in store for us once we move. We will really miss our best friends. We will really miss the life that we have created here. But, we feel that we are being lead back, and we are going.

I don't know what the Lord has in store for the rest of our lives, but we are choosing to trust in Him because He is so much wiser than we are. I know that it isn't going to be easy -- no big change in life is ever completely without problems, but no problem is too big for my God. I trust Him with my life and with the lives of my husband and children.

So, no matter how crazy it may seem to us, we are going to get out of the boat.

Have you ever been called to get out of the boat?