It is late March, yet winter still clings to the landscape. Tired of being cooped up, I take the dog for a walk in the deceitful sunshine: despite the clear, bright weather, the temperature is in the thirties, with a brisk wind. As I walk against the wind, I think what a fitting metaphor that is for challenges, for those times in life when twice as much effort seems to yield half as much progress. When Peter tries surfing without a board, he’s walking against the wind. Matthew 14:24 says, “The wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves” (NIV).

Walking or rowing against the wind is hard enough. Doing it on water, battered by the waves, seems impossible. Sometimes Jesus asks us to do the impossible, with His help. In If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, John Ortberg writes, “Is there any challenge in your life right now that is large enough that you have no hope of doing it apart from God’s help? If not, consider the possibility that you are seriously underchallenged. If you want to walk on the water, you have to be willing to get your feet wet first. Then you

Jesus calls us to walk on water. We want to accomplish great things. But when we face challenges, do we cower in the boat, or do we jump out expecting to do the impossible, with God’s help?

FAITH STEP: Spend some time journaling about the question, “Is there any challenge in your life right now that is large enough that you have no hope of doing it apart from God’s help?”