The Voice of Truth

Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.  When it was evening he was there alone.  Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.  During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified.  "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once, Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."  He said, "Come."  Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.   Matthew 14:22-29

My friend and fellow blogger, Chad Williams, posted a comment on my last post asking if the song I had heard was The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns.  I actually don't know what song  I heard.  It was on the Christian radio station but probably wasn't The Voice of Truth because I am familiar with that song and would have remembered it.  After reading his comment though, I went on itunes, bought the Casting Crowns song and have been listening to it off and on all day today.  It clued me in to something very important that I had missed about this passage.  Stepping out of the boat was not the first or even most important thing that Peter did.  

When they saw Jesus walking on the water, the disciples did not reason to themselves, "Oh, of course--He told us He was the Son of God and God can do anything so that must be Him coming toward us."  Because of the wind, they were naturally very afraid and in their fear, they weren't thinking clearly.  Peter didn't trust his eyes, his mind or even his gut to tell him whether the figure he saw was his Lord.  How could he be sure?  He heard his voice.  Not only that, he gave Jesus the words he needed to hear in order to trust that it was Him.  "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."  How did Peter know what kind of thing Jesus would say?  Because he had heard it before.  "He said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.'  At once they left their nets and followed Him." (Matthew 5:19-20)  

When Peter took his life-changing step out of a boat for the second time, he was not saying "carpe diem" and stepping into the great unknown.  He knew with certainty that he was stepping toward Jesus.  

Something the Casting Crowns song does not mention is that stepping out of the boat was not Jesus' idea.  It was Peter's.  It was his response to recognizing his Lord.  Whether because he knew he would be physically safer by Jesus' side or because he wanted to be with Jesus as quickly as possible, stepping out of the boat was the most rational thing for Peter to do given what he knew to be true about his Master.  He knew he could trust Jesus with his life much more than he could trust a small boat or even his fellow disciples.

So, lesson to me--before I step out of any nice, safe, secure boats, I will first make sure that the voice I'm hearing belongs to Jesus.  I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend etc. and have to be responsible.  Sometimes though, the best decision is the one that looks like lunacy from the world's perspective.  At those watershed moments, perhaps the wisest thing to do is to close my eyes and say to the Lord, "Call me to come to You--I will follow Your voice."

More tomorrow.

(Oh--and thanks, Chad, for reminding me about that incredible song!)