What I am learning from Peter

The past couple of weeks - I have been surrounded by Peter's lesson of walking on water. Matthew 14: 24-33 " But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the 4th watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid," And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." I was teaching this lesson this past week at VBS to five year olds. I had a raft for the boat, paper plates for the wind, blue streamers for waves and of course a Peter, Jesus, and disciples. After concluding the lesson, one of the boys stated "If he (Peter) was going to be scared, he shouldn't have ASKED to get out of the boat!" I have been thinking about this all week. I am constantly on Emily for letting her fears stop her from doing the things she really wants to do. I am asking her to get out of the boat, even though she is afraid. The thing about getting out of the boat is that you have to stay focused on Christ or you sink. It is a gamble, it is a risk. Yet, if I am called out of the boat - I won't fail. I learned a hard lesson several years ago that Christ equips you for the tasks He calls you to. However, sometimes we take that 'equipment' and use it other places or in other ministries than it was intended; leaving us to believe we were left stranded in the middle of the lake - sinking. Tonight, I went to a man's funeral that has attended Faith for a very long time. It was a beautiful service and people were giving testimony to how his life had impacted or affected theirs in some way. Listening and watching the service I was again reminded of Peter and the boat. People like Ty do not have that sort of testimony by staying in the boat; by not taking a risk and investing in the people around him. Not only was Peter changed, but the other disciples as well said "Truly you are the Son of God." There are so many ways/times that I have asked to walk on the water and I feel at other times I have been commanded to walk on the water. It is no secret that I fear failure. However, I am slowly trying to come to the realization that sometimes the failure I feel is nothing more than stubbornness in my refusal to get out of the boat and take a risk. The way I see it, there are two options 1 - be Peter and get out of the boat - keeping my eyes focused on Christ or
2- sit and wish I had been the one brave enough to take a chance.