The other day I had a conversation with a friend about
trusting God. She had been reading a devotional about levels of faith. The text
used the illustration of someone flailing in deep water. The first level is seeing
the rescue boat coming as you try to stay above water. The second level is
reaching the boat and hanging on to the side. The third is laying down inside
the boat as the rescuer motors you to shore.
My friend asked, “Can you be in the boat about some things, but still struggling in the water about others?”
As I thought about her question, Abraham came to mind. He had absolute, in-the-boat faith when he left his homeland of Ur to follow God's command to go to a land God would show him. However, when it came to trusting God to give him children, Abraham struggled in the waters of doubt and tried to bring that about on his own by sleeping with a woman who was not his wife.
Then there is Peter. He trusted Jesus completely when he left his fishing business to follow Jesus. But after Jesus was arrested, Peter denied knowing Him and hid with the rest of the disciples to avoid guilt by association. When he was told Jesus was alive, like a person hanging onto the side of the boat, he hoped it was true but wanted to see for himself.
So, yes, I think we can have faith that puts us in the boat with Jesus about some things but still strive to trust completely about others. As we grow in our faith, seeing God’s faithfulness proven repeatedly, we will spend more time in the boat and less time floundering in the water or hanging onto the side of the boat.
The same man who said three times he didn’t know Jesus, wrote one of the most faith-lifting chapters in the Bible—2 Peter 3! It ends with Peter’s words encouraging the reader to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever!” (v.18)
Be encouraged!
©2025 Pamela D. Williams
