Walk This Way: How Your Posture and Faith Determine Where You Land

Walk This Way: How Your Posture and Faith Determine Where You Land

There are different ways to walk through life's storms. Some people are waiting for the waters to part before they take a step. Others are learning to walk on the water entirely. The way you walk, and the posture of your heart while doing it, determines where you end up.

Does God Promise to Help Us Avoid Hard Situations?

Most of us pray for God to help us avoid the storm. But that is not always how He works.

In Exodus 14, God did not remove the Israelites from their impossible situation. He made a way through it. The sea did not disappear. It parted. They still had to walk.

What looks like a dead end may actually be your shortcut to the promised land. The obstacle in front of you might be exactly where God is doing His best work.

What Does It Mean to Walk Through a Storm vs. Walk Over It?

There are two distinct kingdom examples worth looking at side by side.

The first is Moses and the parting of the sea. God made a way through. The path was clear, even if it was surrounded by walls of water.

The second is the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. They had a boat. They had everything the world said they needed to get across. But the storm was stronger than their resources, and they were stuck in the middle all night long.

Sometimes God parts the sea. Sometimes He walks on the water and invites you to do the same. Both are kingdom. But they are not the same path.

Why Was Jesus Walking on the Water?

This is where it gets deeper than most people realize.

Job 9:8 says: "He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea."

Only God Himself can walk on the waves. Jesus was not taking a shortcut across the lake. He was making a declaration. He was fulfilling Scripture and revealing His identity as Yahweh in the flesh.

And when He spoke to the frightened disciples, the original Greek does not simply say "it's me." It says "I am." He was not just calming their nerves. He was telling them who He is.

Psalm 77 also tells us that God's glory passes by. We see this when Moses asked to see God's glory and was placed in the cleft of the rock. We see it again with Elijah on the mountaintop. Jesus walking by the boat was the same thing. His glory was passing by.

Why Did Jesus Intend to Pass the Disciples By?

Mark 6:48 tells us that Jesus intended to pass them by. He had already told them He would meet them on the other side. He was keeping His word.

He was not ignoring them. He was revealing His glory. And when they cried out, He stopped. He came to them. He got in the boat. And the storm ceased.

The glory of God was passing by, and it was available to anyone willing to recognize it.

What Can We Learn from Peter Walking on the Water?

Twelve people were in that boat. Only one caught the revelation that maybe he could do it too.

Peter stepped out. He walked on water. And yes, he began to sink when doubt crept in. But here is what often gets missed: Peter walked on water twice. Once going toward Jesus, and once coming back with Jesus holding His hand.

Too many people criticize Peter for sinking while they sit safely in the boat and never try anything. The eleven who stayed dry never experienced what Peter did. They played it safe and missed the glory entirely.

If stepping out means Jesus grabs your hand, it is worth the risk of sinking for a moment.

Are You Waiting for the Sea to Part When You Should Be Walking on the Water?

There is a real danger in only believing God works one way.

Some people spend their whole lives praying for dry land before they will take a step. They want the easy, clear, obvious path before they move. But God does not always work that way. Sometimes He is walking on the water and calling you to come.

If you are always waiting for the storm to clear before you move, you may be missing the very moment God is inviting you into something greater.

Why Do Things Break When God Starts to Bless You?

Not everything that breaks in your life is an attack from the enemy. Sometimes what breaks is the container, not the blessing.

When Jesus filled Peter's nets the first time, they broke. Not because the devil attacked them. Because the nets were not prepared for that kind of harvest.

The same is true for new wineskins. When God pours something new into an old, rigid container, it cracks. The problem is not the wine. The problem is the wineskin.

The unanticipated favor of God can leave you unprepared to receive the blessing. That is why character matters. That is why preparation matters.

Luke 5:37-38 captures this principle: "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins."

How Does Character Determine Whether You Survive the Blessing?

Blessing does not give you an attitude. It reveals the one you already had.

The most dangerous person in any church or community is someone who serves but is not a servant. There is a difference. One serves out of obligation or expectation of recognition. The other serves from a genuine desire to bless others without needing anything in return.

When you serve from obligation, you become offended easily. You feel overlooked. You sow division without realizing it. But a true servant's heart is not looking for credit. It is looking for the opportunity to give.

The posture of your heart will carry you further than your talent, your resources, or your strategy ever will.

What Does It Mean to Run Toward the Storm Instead of Away From It?

When a storm approaches, cows run away from it. Because they run in the same direction as the storm, they stay inside it longer and suffer more exposure.

Buffalo do the opposite. They instinctively turn and charge directly into the storm. By running toward it, they get through it faster.

Too many people spend years running from a storm, only to find themselves stuck in it longer than necessary. If God has called you to a promised land and there are storm clouds on the horizon, the answer is not to wait for clear skies. It is to charge forward and trust that He will get you through.

How Do You Prepare to Receive What God Wants to Pour Out?

The question is not just whether God wants to bless you. The question is whether you are prepared to hold what He wants to pour in.

Peter learned his lesson between the first and second miraculous catch of fish. The second time Jesus filled His nets, they did not break. Peter had strengthened them. He had prepared for a harvest.

Preparing your container means working on your character. It means identifying where you have deficits that need to be addressed and where you have gaps that need to be filled through partnership with others. It means asking God to make you pliable, stretchable, and strong enough to hold what He wants to pour in.

Proverbs 10:22 says: "The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."

The blessing itself is not the problem. The unprepared vessel is.

What Happens When You Change Your Perspective on a Difficult Season?

Sometimes what looks like a closed door is actually an open window you have not noticed yet.

When you allow God to shift your perspective, your mind begins to solve problems differently. You stop fighting against the wind and start asking what God is doing in this season. You stop trying to sell when it is a season to buy. You stop rowing harder when it is time to step out of the boat.

The frustration you are feeling right now may be pointing directly at your greatest opportunity. You just need to let Him show you His glory in it.

Life Application

This week, identify one area of your life where you have been waiting for the waters to part before you take a step. Ask God whether He is actually calling you to walk on the water instead. Then take one concrete action in that direction, even if it feels uncertain or unfamiliar.

Before you do, sit with these questions:

• Am I serving God and others from a genuine servant's heart, or am I serving out of obligation and waiting to be recognized?

• Is there an area of my character that I know needs work before I can hold the blessing God wants to pour into my life?

• Am I running away from a storm that God is actually calling me to charge through?

• Have I been waiting for an easy, obvious path when God is walking on the water right in front of me and asking me to come?

The goal is not to avoid the hard thing. The goal is to walk through it, or over it, with your hand in His. Both are kingdom. But you have to get out of the boat to find out which one He is calling you to.