One Foot in Front
A Testimony by Royston Labrooy
Boring, unattractive, religious, these are the words I once used to describe the church.
Growing up in a catholic family with its customs and ritualistic expression seemed a far cry from the fun, free, unrestricted path that the world had to offer. What was on offer? A carefree lifestyle where alcohol and cannabis were part of the daily routine. I thought I was doing fine, I mean, everything at least made sense, until that day, during that conversation. I remember the feeling of brokenness and loss of identity. The man who I believed to be my father, all of a sudden wasn’t. As my mother spoke my mind began to drift, who was I? What do I do now?
A close friend of mine invited me to church. It felt like the sermon was tailored to be a perfect fit for my situation. ‘God is your father, God loves you, God will never forsake you’ were words that not only provided comfort but also stirred something inside of me. I realised I wasn’t right with God, I was far from God, but finally I was ready to accept him as my Lord and Saviour.
Reading, praying and fellowshipping were becoming all the more frequent until my Christian walk took an adverse turn. I began to reminisce, thinking about the pleasures of the world and as our brains so often do, the painful memories were eradicated and replaced with the fantasy that life had been a blissful, fulfilling experience up to this point.
I became isolated, relegated to a putrid life that consisted of an almost compulsory, insatiable, continuous cycle of destruction. Smoking and drinking were almost obligatory activities.
I distinctly remember avoiding Tooting as I knew that I would have to come face to face with a past I had left behind. I think deep down it was a way to avoid the spiritual conviction that would follow.
After months of rejecting the idea of returning to church, and more importantly God, I accepted a friend’s invitation to attend a service. Although I came with the wrong motive, God began to deal with me during the service.
It was like God was talking to me, telling me that he had a destiny for me.
The things that for so long had held me a captive of sin were dealt with, not on my own strength but the pure power that comes from the word of God. There were no quick fixes, no overnight perfect discipleship program but over time God changed my heart.
I was never one who possessed natural flair or a desire for public speaking, an introvert by nature, and this shy, reclusive character was changed. I now have a passion for the things of Christ, even if that means being in uncomfortable situations. I realised that many people in the Bible would perhaps not be deemed natural choices as leaders. I was a man of excuses, but God continued to change me into an overcomer, willing to be used by God, leaning on his strength in unsure times.
My message to anyone reading this would be to come as you are. God doesn’t ask us to come to him in a perfected state; in fact it is impossible to attain perfection by ourselves. Through Christ we are made clean in the sight of God. God will change you if you trust and put one foot in front of the other.
Out Of The Boat
We all know the story of how Jesus walked on water and how Peter briefly walked on water as well, but doubted and began to sink until Jesus reached out to save Him. There is much to learn from this story and from Peter and Jesus’ actions.
Matthew 14:22-36:
“22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Jesus walking on water is connected to an earlier episode in the gospel in which He calmed the storm (Matthew 8:18-34). The “water” and the “storm” in these instances could be interpreted as trying times or a period of uncertainty. In both instances, Jesus easily overcomes the water and the storm and rescues the disciples. He proves Himself to be Lord of the wind, waves, water and the sea; all of which made the disciples anxious. Peter stepped out of the boat because, in that moment, He trusted Jesus with his life but it was only when he noticed the wind around him that he began to sink. Many times when we trust Jesus with our lives, our relationships, our finances, our jobs etc. we “walk on water” and do miraculous things but when we notice the wind and take our eyes off Jesus, for example, by doubting God, that is when we begin to sink.
What’s more notable about this is that the disciples had just witnessed Jesus feeding the five thousand and other miracles before that therefore, they knew what He was capable of. Yet in both instances, they still doubted Him and had little faith even though they knew that He could easily rescue them in the twinkling of an eye. We are, somewhat, a representation of the disciples. We have witnessed the miracles of Jesus in our lives, our families’ lives, yet when the storm comes and we notice “the wind” around us, we forget everything that Jesus has done and begin to panic and sink. However, the beauty of Jesus, our Saviour is that He is exactly that: A Saviour. When Peter began to sink, he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus immediately did exactly that. This echoes Romans 10:13, where Paul writes “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Peter’s attempt to walk on water shouldn’t be wholly viewed as a failure because even in his fear, he still cried out to the Lord. He knew that Jesus was the only one who could save him – not the other disciples. When hard times approach, let your first instinct be to call out to Jesus to save you. In verse 32, when Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind immediately ceased, which shows us that when Jesus gets in “our boats” i.e. our lives, the storms of life will calm and we can worship him like the disciples did. Although, we should always have faith, we are human and there will be times when we will lack faith and begin to sink, but let us be encouraged by the fact that all we have to do is call upon His name and He will save us.