The Peter Principle--or What Happens When You Jump Out of the Boat

The sermon preached by my pastor here in Guatemala, Mike Watkins, helped me pull together the random thoughts that have been bouncing around in my mind recently. . .

In the secular culture, the Peter Principle simply states that we rise to the level of our incompetence.  I definitely have done so!  I'm out a a limb these days. . .spiritually, emotionally, and financially.  The demands of my ministry have definitely exceeded my competence.  I am being stretched to and beyond my limits.  It's scary!

But I am not alone.  For I believe in another Peter principle.  It is found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 14, verses 22-32.  To many of us this is a familiar story of  Peter being ridiculous enough to actually think he could walk on water! To some of us, it may be new.  

The main points are: 

• The disciples are in a boat, on a lake, at night during a storm.  Jesus had stayed behind to pray.
• Suddenly they see a figure walking toward them.  Some thought it was a ghost.  Peter, however, recognized it as Jesus and calls out, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you."
• Jesus says, "Come," and without hesitation Peter jumps out of the boat and begins walking on the water. (I often have thought that Peter should be declared the "Patron Saint of ADHD--who else would do this without a second thought!)
• Peter is doing just fine until he realizes what he has done.  He begins considering the wind and the waves, rather than the Savior who had called him, and begins to sink.
• Of course, Jesus comes to his rescue and pulls him out of the deep and brings him safely to the boat.

This is the Peter Principle I want to be living; I feel like I am living.

One area of my life where I feel stretched to my limits is in helping our young men deal with life.  I know I have experience working in mental health, but this is a whole new ball game.  This is a different culture where people believe and think and act differently.  They are young men, and much of my recent experience has been with women.  They are held prisoner by bodies which do not allow them to be who their mind tells them they were created to be.  They have experienced the ravages of poverty beyond my imagination.  What do I possibly have to give them.

Juan \Carlos, our nurse, with Osmi, Roberto and Fidel

If I am honest, though, the area of my life where I feel most over my head,is fund-raising.  I've never been one to take much of a risk financially.  Maybe it's because for most of my life we had just enough to get by and save a little.  I learned early on not to use credit to buy more than I could pay off in one month--and I learned it the hard way.  So my financial decisions have been conservative, to say the least.  Now I have until February. 2016 to raise about $120,000.  

In both of these parts of my life, I called out to Jesus, "If it's you, tell me to come.  If you want me to start a community home, tell me to.  If you want our ministry to buy a house, lead me to it."  And I believe His direction was to move forward in both of these areas.  I have to admit, jumping out of the boat and into these commitments was not easy.  It was done after much prayer and counsel from those much more spiritually mature than I am.  It was not impulsive.

But I have to admit that actually DOING these things needed to be done without logical thought and in pure obedience.  If I had thought about the implications of what I was doing in either circumstance, I would have been paralyzed by fear.  I could only look at Jesus and trust He had said, "Come."  

Starting Casa de Esperanza what a leap of faith, stepping out onto the water. With each young man we have accepted I have gotten farther away from the boat, and at times it seems the wind has picked up.  Making the decision to purchase the house in San Pedro has caused the wind to pick up substantially.  And there are days that, like Peter, I take my eyes off Jesus and begin to sink, some days deeper than others.

When this happens, I hear His voice once again, telling me to "Come," come into even deeper waters to see what He can and will do.

I hear it through Scripture.  I hear it through listening to good teaching.  I hear it from my brothers and sisters in Christ, who not only encourage me with their own words, but remind me what Jesus has already done in my life and in the lives of others who have trusted him.  And I hear it deep in my heart when I spend time alone with him.

I have never been one for praying set prayers, but find myself frequently praying, "Lord, guide my steps and guard my path.  Help me be obedient to your leading."  This helps me most when I feel anxiety rising, and need to reclaim my focus. I am spending more time praying the Psalms, such as Psalm 14 and Psalm 17.  I am learning to quiet my mind, heart, and soul in His marvelous presence.  And I am at peace. In Him I find joy.

So why am I writing this?  First, I think I needed to remind myself that Jesus has led us to do what we are doing.  The provision has come for what we have needed so far.  I need to trust Him to come through with the rest!  

But I am also writing this for you who read it.  Selfishly, I ask for your prayers that I will keep my eyes on Him alone, and that He will provide what we need, especially for the completion of the purchase of the house.

I am also writing to you, though, to encourage you to jump out of the boat when He calls you to.  I am more certain that there is no "safe" way to be a Christian.  The waves and wind we each face is different, but they can bring us to Jesus if we let them.  We will never see miracles without stepping out into the impossible.