Shift Your Weight: Matthew 14
Photo by Yuri Catalano on Unsplash
Sometimes it’s the same motions and activities and steps that we’ve done hundreds of times, but it’s the context that throws us off and makes us doubt we can do it.
For example, in Matthew 14, Jesus walks out across the water of the Sea of Galilee to reach his disciples. It’s stormy. The waves are high. Their boat is taking on water. In the deep gloom they discern a figure in the water who identifies himself, above the noise of the storm, as their teacher, Jesus. Jesus calls to Peter to come out onto the water to him. In the storm. Boat sinking. Waves high. Walk on the water.
How many times had Peter the fisherman climbed out of a boat before? Hundreds? Thousands?
How does one climb out of a boat? You put your hands on the side, pull yourself up from the seat, put your hands back on the side, throw one leg over, and then shift your weight.
When Jesus said to come out onto the water, all Peter had to do was shift his weight. That is, all he had to do physically. But, emotionally and psychologically, he had to believe that Jesus would make the water firm under his feet, something he’d never seen before. However, he’d seen Jesus do plenty of other unbelievable things, so maybe he could believe Jesus this time too?
What’s that got to do with us? Sometimes we are called to the same activities and actions we’ve done hundreds of times before. It’s the context that gives us pause and makes us doubt, not the actions.
For example: You’ve been gracious plenty of times, but this time you need to be gracious to someone who consistently challenges you. Or, you’ve done your work honestly many times, all the time, but this time you are being told to cut a corner, and they are watching to see if you will. Or, you’ve served your family many, many times but this time, your heart is broken because of the death of a loved one and how can you move forward?
Notwithstanding the valid need for advice, counseling, help, training, rest, friendship, taking a break, etc., sometimes you have to keep going, but you think this time, “I can’t do this.”
When you say, “I can’t do this,” check and see if it’s the context, not the actions, that are throwing you off. If so, it’s time to believe in the One who does the unbelievable. It’s not time to “believe in yourself,” or “grin and bear it,” or even “muddle through,” but rather, it’s time to put all your hope in Jesus Christ, that he will make the water firm, doing the things you can’t do. He will take care of the context. He is calling you to do a thing you’ve done many times before, but this time in a new context. He will make the water firm. It’s time to throw one leg over like you’ve done many times before. And then, with your eyes on him, shift your weight.