Two philosophical concepts that have helped me to overcome and develop into the young woman I am today are:

One, to never ever fear, no matter how I may feel or what I may experience and,

Two, never ever be afraid of getting it wrong, no matter how foolish I may feel or look.

These have opened in me wells of determination and perseverance I never knew.

I learnt that when you are afraid of getting it wrong, you can miss out on a lot — sometimes on something you will never ever get the chance of learning again.

The fear of making mistakes, or getting it wrong, limits your need to excel and grow.

You will never know what you have on the inside of you until you are prepared to find out.

Another lesson I have learnt is that fear will cripple you.

Fear will cause you to be tormented and paralyzed.

Fear keeps you in your comfort zone and prevents you from stepping out of familiarity.

I once cared too much what people thought of me and it limited my ability to walk in my full potential.

This actually caused me to think twice when I was lead to do something.

However God changed my perspective and strengthen my confidence.

I realized it was more important to trust Him more than I did people. I realized His opinion of me mattered more than the opinion of others.

I realized His protection and approval was all I needed. For the past six years a lot has changed for me.

When The LORD called me to step out of the boat like He did Peter, I was forced to become the woman I never knew.

I was forced to take responsibilities I was never prepared for.

I was forced to walk a journey I had never been before.

I was forced to believe Him, regardless of how I felt and what I knew.

I was forced to become better than the person I was.

I fell prey to live what I was familiar with instead of stepping into destiny. I got too accustomed to the usual.

Here I was confined to what I knew and how I knew, but God called me to step out of my boat to walk in the unknown.

Sometimes it will take a storm to get you out of your boat. Sometimes God will disturb what you are familiar with because it does not have the capacity to hold and develop you into the person He wants you to become.

Sometimes the situation or position you are in will cause you trouble and fear because God desires to do greater for you.

Peter was confined to the boat. For a while he got use to the familiar which prevented him from seeing the greater before Him.

God desired for him to have much greater than what he had and so he was called to step out of the boat and into the water.

The boat represented Peter’s comfort zone, but the water God was calling Him into represented the unknown.

Understand that you can miss walking into the place God is calling you to if you stick to the boat for fear of the unknown.

Though you are not sure of the outcome you must trust that God has you. The winds blowing against your sail can be boisterous but you must be focused and trust that the God who called you out of your boat is able to keep you.

Sometime you have to shut out the distraction and focus on getting where God wants you to go.

Even though Peter might have lost His focus and began to sink, the mere fact that he stepped out of the boat said a lot about him.

It showed how much he trusted and believed God. It showed his willingness to want to grow.

Jesus instructed Peter to step out of the boat and he did. He was fearful but he did.

He was unfamiliar with where God was calling him to, but he did.

The revelation and lessons Peter must have got from the lesson of stepping out of the boat must have changed his perspective and life.

I am sure he learnt and grew way more than those who remained in the boat.

It took much for me to realize I was never meant to stay in a boat but to walk on water.

I might have had moments where I felt like I was drowning but my encounter and experience with Him has developed the warrior in me…

I want to ask you, what boat is God calling you to step out of?

What has been causing you fear? Refuse to allow the fear of getting it wrong to keep you in the boat.

I encourage you today to forget about who and what is around you and focus on what God is asking you to.

Shut out the distractions and focus on stepping out of your boat.

You too can walk on water!

 

~ Shelly-Ann Powell

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Shelly-Ann Powell is a woman after God’s heart, founder and director of the Impact Nations For Christ organization whose mission is to empower, strengthen and point humanity to the Savior Jesus Christ.

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