Matthew 14:25-29 “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”  “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus”.

While I was praying today, the Lord revealed to me that Christians step out in faith, but they do not walk by faith. I got the sense that many people through the centuries and even on earth right now, stepped out in faith, as it pertained to something they heard God say. But when what God told them did not happen in the time frame they thought it should, they stopped believing.

When I was a young Christian, the Lord would speak to me and I would step out by faith and things would happen almost immediately. Whether it was a financial breakthrough that was needed, a physical healing, or a reconciled relationship. It seemed as though everything happened so fast. Then my faith would rise and I would be “on fire”. But as I have matured in my faith, I realize that those were my faith training wheels. God would answer prayers quickly, to encourage me that He heard me and that He was going to do what I ask. But, as I have gotten older, as more time has elapsed, more God activity has happened in my life, I find that more time passes before the prayers are answered.

For some people, time means no, but for others time means a maturing of their faith, so they can believe who God is, not what God does, alone. God loves to reveal his activity to us, He loves to shower us with answered prayer, but what He loves more than that, is people who know who He is. I have discovered that when I know who He is, what He does or doesn’t do, will not change who He is in my mind.

I am in a place in life right now, where all I see is water. I stepped out of the boat by faith, but even though situations are not aligning the way I know they will, I have not stopped walking by faith. I have learned that who God is, determines what God will do. So, I am hanging on to who God is, because I know I heard His voice, but all I see is water. When we quit walking by faith, because the circumstances are not aligning with the promise we have been given, we show that our faith is young, undeveloped, small. But when we can hang on to the promise, even though the circumstances don’t line up, yet, we can be confident that our faith is growing, stronger, and more stable than it was when we depended on circumstances to confirm the promise we heard.

Hebrews 11:39 says, “All of these, though they won divine approval by means of their faith, did not received the fulfillment of what was promised”. The men and women of faith in scripture that we admire stepped out by faith, walked by faith and when all they saw was water, continued to walk by faith, because they knew Who it was that gave them the promise.

You have already stepped out by faith, you are already walking by faith, don’t stop now because all you see is water. Keep walking by faith, hang on to the promise, for the One who gave it to you is God, and He is faithful.