Walking on Water

During my first Navy tour, Matthew 14:22-33 (the story is also found in Mark 6) became one of my favorite stories in the gospels. To summarize, the disciples head across the Sea of Galilee while Jesus stays behind to pray. They row all night, but they can’t get across because of the wind. Finally, shortly before dawn, they see a figure coming towards them, walking on the water. It’s Jesus. Peter asks if he can also walk on water – and does so, only to lose confidence and begin to fall. He is rescued by Jesus, and together they return to the boat and complete their journey.

Water-Walking

This passage was special to me for a few reasons. First off, it involved boats and water, which were suddenly a very large part of my life. Second off, it takes place “in the fourth watch of the night,” often translated “very early in the morning.” Why is it translated this way? Because when Matthew and Mark say “the fourth watch,” they are referring to the fourth shift of the Roman army’s watch rotation – 3 am to 6 am. During my first tour, I became more than familiar with this watch. It’s what in the Navy we call “the rev,” short for “the reveille watch,” because it takes place right before reveille. It’s a cold, lonely, dreary, dismal time to be awake, much less trying to get something done, particularly when you’ve been up all night and you have a long day to look forward to.

Most of all, though, I resonated with the idea of walking on water. Walking on water sounds like it would be amazing – I remember reading the story as a kid and thinking how much fun it would be. But Peter wasn’t having fun. He was terrified. This wasn’t a nice, calm, summer lake. This was a stormy sea in the middle of the night, with nothing but the moon for light. Peter wasn’t thinking about having fun; as soon as he got out of the boat, he was just trying to stay upright.

Getting out of the Boat

This is how I felt for much of my first tour. I had been “in a boat” for all my life up to this point. Throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, and college, I knew what was expected of me; I knew what the days, weeks, and years ahead would hold. Everything was under control. But now – now I was in the real world. There were no clear benchmarks; there were no clear goals. I didn’t know what I was doing or how I was supposed to do it. I didn’t know where my life was going or if I was on track to get there.

From the outside, it probably looked like I was walking on water – doing amazing things and having fun at the same time. I was doing exciting things, and it looked like I was successful, like I had everything put together. But in reality, I was just trying to stay upright. I wanted the boat back. I wanted to be able to row, knowing where I was going, not struggle just to put one foot in front of the other, unable to see the way ahead.

I got through this rough patch by following the directions of this story: keeping my focus on Christ. In my spluttering, flailing, spray-drenched mess, I looked up and found him ready to pull me out and set me back on the waves again and again. Day after day, he walked calmly with me while I figured out how to get my feet under me. Night after night, I found I’d gotten through a day that had seemed at first impossible. I was doing it. I was walking on water, and I found I could almost – almost – enjoy myself doing it.

The Waves Less Traveled

We all like boats in life: clear expectations, controlled environments, charted paths, conventions, customs, habits. Boats make us comfortable – perhaps too comfortable. If we aren’t forced to give up our nice, cozy, familiar boats, how will we ever learn to walk on the waves?

A little earlier in Mark, in chapter 4, we hear of another boat trip of the disciples and Jesus. Jesus says, “let’s cross over to the other side,” and they start off, but as they’re crossing, a storm comes up, and soon the boat is filling with water. Jesus is asleep. The disciples cry out to him that the boat is about to sink – we’ll die! Don’t you care?! Jesus responds by calming the storm.

But you know what? Jesus didn’t have to calm the storm. Jesus didn’t need the boat to cross that lake, and neither did the disciples, if they were with him. He could have let the boat sink, and they could have just walked the rest of the way.

Let’s Cross Over

What’s my point? First, if you’re in a storm, if it’s the reveille watch and you’re bone tired, if you’re just trying to stay upright and all you can see are the waves, don’t forget to look up. Maybe God is trying to teach you how to walk on water.

Second, if your boat is filling with water – if God has called you to cross over to somewhere, but in the process you find that your conventions and customs and securities are hindering rather than helping – don’t be afraid to step out of the boat. If you have to choose between the boat and the call of Christ, always choose Christ, and boat or no boat, I promise you’ll make it to the other side.

“The meeting of the waves” by Peter H 01 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0