Peter rubbed his sleepy eyes…he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had been fishing all night so maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. Could there REALLY be someone or something…walking on TOP of the water towards them? Then Peter hears a familiar voice. A voice that had already calmed the waves. A voice he had heard speak to the multitudes. A voice that Peter trusted. Jesus. It was Jesus.
Peter got out of that boat and started walking on the water toward his friend. His Teacher. The whole story can be read in Matthew 14. Can you even imagine this scene playing out? I WISH I had been there to see it, to experience it. Look, I’m sure you’ve heard the same things I have about this story. You know, the fact that ‘ol Pete started to sink and Jesus had to reach out and save him. But y'all…I’m here to tell you something…that guy GOT OUT OF THE BOAT! No one else did. They sat there. Not moving. Not our boy Pete. He walked on water…even if it was for a second.
Why is that a big deal to me? Because I’ve walked on water too. Just for a second. And it was glorious. Let me tell you a story. A story of a girl who trusted Jesus enough to get out of the boat and walk on water. In July of 2016 I was swimming in my pool, relaxing and just talking to Jesus. The pool was one of my favorite places to do that. I just could hear Him more clearly…as clearly as the water in the glistening pool. That day, my Abba spoke something to me that changed my life forever. He whispered to my heart, “You need to go to the doctor and have your uterus taken out because there are things unseen.” Ummmm…excuse me? The Lord was kind enough to say it again so I wouldn’t miss it. “You need to go to the doctor and have your uterus taken out because there are things unseen.” I knew it was from Him. I knew I didn’t just make that up. So, I went. I went to the doctor, but instead of sharing terrible news, he said everything was fine. I was shaken. I didn’t understand. I knew what my Abba had said but it didn’t line up with what this doctor was saying. I asked the doctor if he would do a hysterectomy on me anyway and he agreed due to my age. (I was 41 at the time) We picked a surgery date six weeks from then. I’d love to tell you that everyone shared in my belief of what I knew God had told me…but that wasn’t true. Lots of people didn’t understand. Even my husband didn’t agree with my decision to have a major surgery that my doctor did not say I needed. It was hard. Really hard. I know what the doctor said but I also know what my Great Physician said…and He was the One who created me. So, I went through the surgery. A week later I went to my checkup. The doctor shared that everything was healing well. As I was getting up to leave, he stopped me. He said we needed to talk about the pathology report.
“You’re not going to believe this Karen, but you had Uterine Cancer”, he said. I couldn’t believe what had just come out of his mouth. “When would you have known about this?” I asked. “We wouldn’t have, not until it was symptomatic and well…then it’s too late”, he replied. Then he said something that made me smile…even in that moment. He said, “When we find Uterine Cancer, we do a hysterectomy…and we accidently already did one on you.” Ahhh…it was no accident. It was divinely ordained by Abba Himself and the definition of Jeremiah 33:3 and Jeremiah 29:11. I bet you’re still waiting for the part where I walked on water, huh? It would be easy to miss, I’m sure. But since I lived it, I’m acutely aware of the moment that my feet touched the top of the water and I walked toward Jesus. It was the moment that my faith was so sure in what my Abba had told me that I risked looking like a fool and did it anyway. It was the moment that I believed so greatly in my Father’s voice and His love for me that I defied the “natural” to walk in the “Supernatural”. It was the very moment when I believed that Jesus was trustworthy enough for me to walk towards him and even if I was wrong, He’d be there to reach out and catch me. I walked on water…so can you.
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