If “the longest journey in the world begins with the first step,” as the old Chinese proverb says, then that same journey has to end with a last one. That last step is vital, for without it, the journey would have no ending; and that first step might just as well never have been taken.
Some journeys have their beginning in desperation: all is likely to be lost if someone does not begin it in the hope that its success will bring a change in health, wealth or happiness.
If you were the disciple Peter, rowing half the night through a storm and getting nowhere, and you suddenly caught a glimpse of someone or something that could change your situation – wouldn’t you show some initiative and do something?
Peter did. When he glimpsed what appeared to be a ghost in a rain-swept night on a turbulent lake, he was as scared as anyone else in the plunging, heaving fishing boat. What made him different from the rest was that he was prepared to do something about the situation.
So when the ghostly figure identified itself as his leader and friend, he asked for a command that would enable him to get out of the boat and walk. It had to have been a short walk, given the circumstances and the visibility. Anyhow, when Peter got the word he had asked for, he used his initiative and got started.
That was miraculous in itself, simply because it couldn’t be done. But Peter was walking on more than water: he was walking on a word – because Jesus had called to him: “Come!”
Well, any anyone who has set out to do what has never before been done has found, initiative carries with it a certain sense of adventure. The wonder of those first few steps would have got Peter a certain distance before his mind recovered its senses. When it did, adventure gave way to apprehension, which is when you think, “I Don’t Know That This Was A Good Idea.”
Never mind. Don’t think. Just keep going. One step at a time. But apprehension brings hesitation. Which is not good when you don’t think you got what it takes to go forward and you are too far out to go back. That’s when that “sinking feeling” starts. You hesitate, you think twice, you waver, and your heart begins to sink. When your heart sinks, everything else starts to sink with it – business, finance, mortgage, the bank balance, your children’s education – all look like going under.
That’s when you need some assistance – someone to reach out to, someone to give you a bit of a lift. When Peter cried for help, Jesus reached out, took his hands, and lifted him to his feet. Peter must have been only an arm’s length away – just one step short of success – for Jesus to do that. When Jesus holds your hands, you don’t need to think about your feet.
Euphoric is how you feel when your feet don’t seem to touch the ground – and that’s probably how Peter felt as he walked with Jesus back to the boat. Sure, he had stopped short, but then – who hasn’t? After all, the others hadn’t even left the boat.
The lesson: if you are one step short of success – fall forward! But make sure that you’re within an arm’s reach of Jesus when you do!
What a story Peter had to tell his wife! Danger, Fear, Initiative, Adventure, Apprehension, Hesitation, Assistance, Euphoria, Rescue – it had everything!
Think what kind of a story you could have, if you trust Jesus enough to take that important first step – and keep on trusting Him until you take the very last one!