Faith That Steps Out of the Boat

What’s your boat?

For some, it’s comfort. For others, it’s fear, insecurity, routine, control, or the safety of staying where life feels predictable. But in Episode 3 of FaithFinder Season 3: Becoming a Faith Walker, Not Just a Faith Talker, we’re confronting the reality that you cannot walk on water while staying in the boat.

In Matthew 14:29, Peter did something that seemed impossible—he stepped out onto the water at the command of Jesus. Before the miracle happened, there had to first be movement. Peter had to leave safety behind and trust God beyond what made sense naturally.

That’s the heart of this episode:
 faith requires stepping beyond comfort.

Many believers love the idea of faith until faith demands risk. We pray for increase, growth, purpose, and elevation, but when God calls us to move beyond familiarity, fear often keeps us frozen. The truth is, there are moments in life where faith will require you to:

•  Step into unfamiliar territory 
•  Trust God beyond your emotions 
•  Move without guarantees 
•  Leave behind what feels safe 

In this episode, we discuss:

•   How fear and doubt fight against faith movement 
•  Why stepping out is necessary for spiritual growth 
•  What happens when you focus more on the storm than the Savior 

We also talk about the reality that Peter was the only disciple willing to leave the boat. The others stayed where it felt safe—but Peter experienced something supernatural because he was willing to move.

And maybe that’s where many people are today:
 Watching others walk by faith while remaining stuck in hesitation.

🔥 That’s why this episode strongly connects with the 10-Day Active Faith Kickstart—a powerful challenge designed to help believers move from passive faith into intentional daily action.

The 10-Day Active Faith Kickstart is not just inspiration—it’s activation.

Inside the challenge, listeners will receive:

•  Daily scriptures and devotionals 
•  Practical faith-building action steps 
•  Reflection prompts for spiritual growth 
•  Encouragement to move beyond fear and comfort 
•  Daily opportunities to practice active faith in real life 

Because faith grows when it is exercised.

If you’ve been feeling spiritually stagnant, fearful of change, hesitant about your next step, or trapped in comfort, this episode is your reminder that God never called you to stay in the boat forever.

🎯 Faith Challenge for This Episode:
Identify one area where fear or comfort has been holding you back. Then take one bold step this week that stretches your faith beyond what feels safe.

No more watching from the boat.
 No more letting fear decide your future.

✨ Real faith walkers are willing to step where others are afraid to go.

Download your free copy of the 10-Day Active Faith Kickstart now!! 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dI0Cm9SUZXkPo8gP4BHSiHSNRLLT8BJu/view?usp=drive_link

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hallelujah. I'm telling you, I'm telling you. Risk taking step of faith. A risk-taking step of faith. Step out of the boat. Let your faith move you in such a way, hallelujah, that it arrests you. Instead of fear arresting you and gripping you and crippling you, let your faith arrest you and propel. Oh, glory, hallelujah. Let your faith arrest you and propel you. Glory, hallelujah. This is Faith Finder, where faith becomes your roadmap. Welcome to Faith Finder Podcast, where faith becomes your roadmap. I am your host, Tamara Anderson. Thank you so much for joining me of season three, Activated Faith from Belief to Bold Living. We are now on episode three, and it is entitled Faith That Steps Out of the Boat. As always, let's go ahead and open up in a word of prayer. Most gracious and heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you, Jesus. We thank you, we thank you, we thank you. Lord, we thank you for a brand new day. Hallelujah. Full of new mercies. Glory to your name. Hallelujah. Lord, we thank you. Hallelujah. Hey, glory to your name. We thank you that last night was not our night to be called home. Lord, we thank you for another opportunity to learn more of you. Hallelujah. To seek your face even the more. Hallelujah. To obtain wisdom and knowledge. Glory to your name on how to live this life with faith. Lord, we thank you. Hallelujah. Glory to your name for the lesson that is before us. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. We thank you for those that went before us that are laid out in the Bible to show us how to live and how to move, how to react, Lord God. Hallelujah. Glory to your name, Jesus, and how to edify you. Lord, we thank you. On today, Lord God, we ask that you please forgive us of anything we have said, done, thought, or felt that is unlike you. Continue to order our footsteps, Lord Jesus. Continue to lead and guide us in your righteousness. Hallelujah. Continue to be with us day in and day out. Hallelujah. Continue to show us the error of our ways that we may not sin against you. Lord, we just thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We come humbly unto you today, Lord God, to open up our ears to hear you. You and you alone, Lord Jesus. Open up our hearts to receive and our minds for a better understanding. Oh, hallelujah! But give us application of your word. Application. Glory to your name, Jesus, on how to move forward in greater faith. Lord, we just thank you on today. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen and amen. Hallelujah. Glory to your name, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Glory to your name. Lord, we thank you for just another episode. Hallelujah. We thank you for another opportunity. I thank you, Lord, for another opportunity to bring forth a lesson unto your people. Hallelujah. Glory to your name, Jesus. I thank you. I take not the assignment lightly, Lord Jesus. Hallelujah. Glory to your name. And Lord, forgive me for being slowful. Hallelujah. And delayed in beginning, Jesus. But let your people be glorified. Let you be glorified and your people be edified. Hallelujah. Let your body, oh, hallelujah, be edified. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Hallelujah again. Our topic for today is faith that steps out of the boat. Hallelujah. Glory to your name. We're going to read Matthew 14, 28 and 29 in your hearing King James Version. And it says, And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, That's Jesus, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. So our main focus for today is risk taking faith. Hallelujah. Risk taking glory. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. So just to understand, I when season two ends, I almost in fact before season two ended, I began working on season three. So this information, or I come up with this lesson. So we started at the beginning of May. So this probably would have been the beginning of April. And God knows I did not have a clue in April what he was going to be taking me through in May. So y'all, I'm sorry, this one is a good one for me. For me. Hallelujah. So again, uh, faith that steps out of the boat. So we're gonna talk about Peter, and this is a very, very popular story in the Bible, and so many people can teach it from so many different ways. Um, but ultimately, what it was was the disciples were on a ship in the middle of the sea, and Jesus had stole, you know, after he had uh preached and talked to the multitudes, he had stolen away, and he told them, I will see you on the other side. So he told them to cast out, go to the I'll see you on the other side. So Jesus began to walk um towards them because they were in the middle of the sea, and again, right before this, or during this, there was a storm, a big storm. So they seen something coming towards them, and and they didn't know what it was or whatever. Um, as if they were like, It's Jesus, and Peter said, Lord, if it's you, if this is really you, bidd me to come to you, and Jesus was like, Sure. So Peter stepped out of the boat and began to walk towards Jesus. Now, different people say that it was because he took his focus off of Christ and he began to look at the clouds and the wind and the storm and the thunder and the lightning that he began to sink. Some say that you know he allowed his fear, you know, of what was going around him. Whatever the case may be, he began to sink, and Jesus reached down um and saved him. But here's the kicker: here's the first part. Again, our focus is risk taking faith. Peter had enough faith to step out. That's number one. He had enough faith to step out. There are so many of us who are not even willing to step out to take that first step. At least Peter had enough faith within him, hallelujah, to I'm I'm right here with the savior, I'm right here with Jesus. So all I gotta do is walk to him. He didn't already give me permission to come out of the boat. He's already, oh glory, hallelujah! He's already given me permission to step out on the boat and take that risk. And is it really a risk if Jesus has told him to take it? No, hallelujah! But he at least he had enough faith, first of all, to ask, second of all, to take the step, he had enough faith, and so therefore, what happened? He began to walk on water, he began to walk on water now. Here's the caveat to this because my question, and I I sincerely want to know from you all: what keeps you from stepping out? What keeps you in the boat? What keeps you from taking that risk taking faith and that or that risk-taking step of faith? Thank you, Jesus. That risk-taking step of faith. What keeps you? What keeps you now? For me, again, transparent moment. It was the unknown and fear. I'm just being honest with you. I am a very analytical person. When I say analytical, anyone who knows me, and I've said this multiple times because this is really who I am. If I am planning something, I have about three or four plans. Because if this falls through, I got plan B, and if that falls through, I got plan C. No joke, that's just who I am. Because, unfortunately or fortunately, how you want to look at it, that life, the childhood that I had in the teenage years, that uncertainty, and the and the I mean, if I one day I may just give my testimony, but anywho, because of all the ups and downs and the uncertainty and and and just being literally pillar to post, pillar to post, um, that created something in me like I have to know. I gotta know, I gotta see the beginning and the end of this thing. Being honest, I'm very analytical that way. If it don't make sense, I'm not doing it. Okay, so that's me naturally being honest. Also, fear. When I tell you fear had a hold of me, fear had a hold of me. I was afraid of bugs, I was afraid of public speaking, I was afraid of nine times out of ten, my shadow. And I'm just being honest, I really was, and it is nothing because even now, oh my husband, he'll sneak up, you know, behind me and I'll turn around and there's just somebody there, and I'm you know, I'm seriously, I'm scared, so I'm a scary person like that. But um, that's what kept me in the boat. So, no joke, um, 2017, 2017, 2018, I believe it was 20, no, 2017. No, it might even be sooner than that. I forgot to look it up. I apologize. But anywho, for years I did Facebook Live. God gave me the the I heard him, he told me to do it. I got confirmation um at a woman's retreat, which was absolutely amazing. But if you only knew what it took for me to prepare just to go live, and I'm being honest, just to go Facebook Live because A, I didn't want to say something that God didn't tell me to say, I wanted to be pleasing to him, I wanted to say what he wanted me to say, how he wanted me to say, break it down. So the fear of um disappointing the Lord really had me, and it took me a minute. I'm not gonna lie, it took me a minute. I had to figure out all of Facebook Live. That's still me and Facebook to this day don't get along, but that's neither here nor there. But seriously, it would take so much. I would fast that whole day, like and when I tell you, my heart rate would just woo, right? Like, because I would go live at seven, and so at 6:30, 640, my heart was doing this, I was sweating, I was just so nervous. But I knew I learned disobedience is sin. I learned that, even delayed disobedience is sin, but even beyond all of that, I wanted to be pleasing to the Lord, so I did Facebook Live after about a year and a half. I'm not joking, it for me, for me, it took about a year and a half, two years for me to be like, okay, okay, because no joke, transition. Uh got my pastor kept calling me evangelists. I'm not, I'm not an evangelist, I don't know what shock about. That's not me, but again, it was I was comfortable at that point doing Facebook Live, but now you want me to go stand in a pulpit in front of people, baby. When I say a whole nother wave of fear, a whole nother wave of fear, and again, the unknown. God, why are you calling me to preach? I ain't got nothing to say to these people. Let me keep doing my little thing and my little world on Facebook Live. I'm good. No joke, seriously, but again, that fear. First couple of times, I mean, I'm I I know it was under the Lord, I know it's of the Lord, but I came to a point. Um, and and this is again my third point how to step out despite fear, how to step out despite fear. I was preaching one Sunday, and when I tell you, it was almost like the light bulb went off, a revelation, this eye-opening, because I could actually tangibly feel the Lord right there in the pulpit with me. I'm not joking you, and it was as though he was saying, Guess what, babe? I'm right here. Tammy, I'm right here beside you. If I called you to this, understand and know that I not only am I gonna be on the other side, because a lot of people we hear that thing um that um if he brings you to it, he'll bring you through it, he'll walk, he'll bring you through it. If he brings you to a situation, circumstance situation, whatever the case may bring, he'll bring you uh, he's on the other side. Thank you, Jesus. He's on the side, he knows that you can make it through. For me, it was as though he was saying, I am walking with you through this. When I tell you, it was almost just, and then what the Lord started to do, because again, me, he knows me, he I'm his daughter, he knows who I am. God, like I know Tammy, I know her, I know how she is. He would always, and I mean, always send me confirmation of the message that he gave me to preach on or teach on or whatever the case may be. Always, and sometimes it's in the most comical ways. Um, sometimes it's just, and even the one time, no joke. Again, fear, fear. I'm telling y'all, it is it's real, it's real. I want to be pleasing to the Lord. Lord had given me a message, I was ready to go. Sunday morning, I'm praying and I hear something totally different. Okay, well, maybe that's just for me specifically. I'm just being honest with y'all. So I get to church, and that thing would not let me go. Lord, you've given me a message. We got this, we've been doing this for a couple of years now, Lord. We got a system, we got a way of doing things. I had my message uh printed out in my little binder, we was good to go. But I it was almost though as though it arrested me, it overtook me, and I had apologized. Look, y'all, I have a message, but I hear God saying something totally different. In that day, when I tell you all fear, all fear broke off of me because here I am, God is using me because I'm just a tool, it ain't about me, baby. It ain't about me, but I was just a tool that day that he used to get a message, prophetic message to a lot of his people. Seriously, that day when I say God use me how you want to, I was very serious because for me to preach out of him, not off of the notes that he gave me, but strictly off of him, it may be the sky is the limit. So when I say yes, it has to take faith to do a lot of things, especially stepping out. We gotta have faith, no ifs, ands, and buts about it. But I'm ready to level up. Let's take that risk taking fear. I'm sorry, risk taking faith, step of faith, risk taking step of faith. Let's do that. Let's do that because I know I'm not the only one. I know I'm not the only when I tell you, oh, was this two weeks? No, last week. Last week, Monday, last week, Monday, last week, Tuesday, whatever day last week. I apologize. A leap, a risk taking step of faith. Again, y'all. I I I did this back in April. I didn't know what God was gonna have me to do when I promised you, and it was like God, when he opened the door, oh glory, that's another thing. Whoo, thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus. Peter said, Jesus, if you you, if it's you bid me to come, Jesus said, Come. He's not gonna tell you to do something if he hasn't already prepared the water for you to walk on. He's not, while we may not know, he knows. He knows, so he's not gonna tell you to do something if he has not already prepared a solid foundation for you to do it. Glory, hallelujah. He's opened doors that no man could open and no man can close. He's already prepared a solid foundation for you to step out on, hallelujah, and go forth in him. It's already prepared. So when we stop listening to the enemy and to fear, trust, believe, and have total faith in the Lord and what he's told you to do, baby. I promise you, your world is open up greater, greater. I the risk that I took, that leap of faith, but God opened doors. When I I'm on the phone with the man, and I tell him what the screen, my screen tells me because he has me walk through this process. He was even shocked and surprised. So that right there letting me know this is God. This is a God thing. This is God open up a door. He's answering a prayer of mine. It may not be the way that I thought it was gonna come, but this is how God wants me to do it. So, seriously, we gotta let go of fear, we gotta let go of the unknown, whatever that thing is that's keeping you in the boat, you gotta let it go. Hallelujah. At least Peter took that first step onto the water and he began to walk. You're not even, some of us are not even willing to take the step out of the boat. Get out of the boat, get out of the boat. Understand again, God has already laid it solid. It's not iffy, it's not shaky, it's not uneven, it's a solid foundation. He's already laid before your feet. If you would just step and go, watch God move on your behalf. Glory, hallelujah, hallelujah. I'm telling you, I'm telling you. Risk taking step of faith. A risk-taking step of faith. Step out of the boat, let your faith move you in such a way, hallelujah, that it arrests you. Instead of fear arresting you and gripping you and crippling you, let your faith arrest you and propel. Oh, glory, hallelujah! Let your faith arrest you and propel you. Glory, hallelujah. That's from the Lord. I hear you, Lord. Let your faith arrest you and propel you. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you. Stop, stop, stop. That was me. Seriously. It was me. And I can only tell you how it crippled me, how it hindered me. Seriously. But God, but God, hallelujah. We always, always, always have a faith challenge for the week. I want you to face one fear you've been avoiding. There's something God told you to do, and you've been avoiding it. And I again, this was last week. So you may have done one thing last week, but there's something that fear is keeping you from doing that you know the Lord has told you to do. I want you to take a bold, risk taking step of faith that makes you uncomfortable, but aligns with what God has called you to do. It aligns. So I don't want you out here doing something out of self. No, no, no. I want you to do something that God has told you to do, you've gotten confirmation to do, but fear has kept you from doing it. Okay? Not something that you want to do. You feel in your flesh to do, but you ain't got no confirmation. No, no, no, no, no. I want you to do something that God has told you to do. You've gotten confirmation to do, but fear has kept you from doing it. The unknown has kept you from doing. Or whatever that thing is that's gripping you has kept you from doing it. Do it, do it. That's your challenge this week. Do it. Okay? All right. And as always, always, always, always, always, we're gonna open up our virtual altar, our virtual altar. Lord God, hallelujah. Anyone who you don't know the story of Peter because you're new to Christ, or I'm sorry, you don't know this the story of Peter because you don't know Christ, you haven't read a Bible before, you haven't, you know, given your life to Christ. That may be you on today, and God allowed you to get a glimpse, oh, hallelujah, of his world through today's episode, today's lesson. And if that's you, all you gotta do is receive Christ on today. That's it. It's not hard. It's not hard if you can confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you shall be saved. Not saying you are saved. A lot of people want, oh, you're saying no, it said you shall be, meaning salvation is coming your way. Hallelujah, hallelujah, glory to your name. That person that once walked with Christ, you know that story because you was a Bible-believing, Bible reading, Bible doer, but you walked away from the Lord. It's now time to come back, and that could be your oh, glory, hallelujah! That could be your risk taking, which really is not a risk, but I get it because fear is keeping you crippled and bound. But that could be your step today to step back into the body of believers. That could be your step that thing the fear is keeping you, or you know, judgment or whatever the thing is that's keeping you from coming back to Christ. That could be your challenge for this week. To rededicate your life to the Lord. However, whatever. But just do it. Just do it. If you have breath in your body, you still have a chance. Because baby, once the breath is gone, the opportunity, the chance is gone. And you're never going to get it back again. My pastor said someone asked him, Well, can't I just get to heaven and then ask for forgiveness? No. No. There is no access to heaven without the forgiveness here on earth. There is no access to heaven without walking with Christ here on earth. Okay? So we want to end in prayer. Lord, we thank you for speaking to us and through me on today, Lord God. I hear you. I hear you, Jesus. Thank you for the lesson. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your love, your grace, and your mercy. Thank you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Show them, Lord God, an area of their life because they may be searching and not really realizing that it's fear or whatever, keeping them from being obedient, keeping them from taking that step of faith. But Lord, reveal to them those areas of their life, hallelujah, where their faith needs to rise more. Hallelujah. Glory to your name. Where they need to lay aside any and everything that is unlike you. Hallelujah. And take that step. Glory to your name, Lord God. I just thank you. I thank you. I thank you for meeting us. Oh, hallelujah, today in this episode, in this lesson, Lord. And let it not fall on deaf ears. Let it not fall on infertile ground, but let it fall in the fertile hearts, Lord God, that it may spring forth in the due season. Lord, we just thank you on today. We give you glory, we give you honor, we give you praise. And it's in Jesus' mighty name that we say, Amen, Amen, and Amen. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Join me next week for episode four Walking by Faith and Not by Sight. You guys have a blessed day and a miracle, wonderful, absolutely faith-challenged week. Because I want to hear about what you did. What was that step that you take? Let me know. I'm serious about that. You guys have a wonderful day. God bless.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

Thank you for traveling with me today on Faith Finder. Every mile we take together strengthens our faith, sharpens our vision, and reminds us that God is guiding the road beneath our feet. If this episode encouraged you, make sure to follow the podcast, leave a review, and share with someone who's on their own faith journey. Until next time, keep trusting, keep growing, and keep moving forward. Because faith isn't just something you have, it's something you live. This is Faith Finder, where faith becomes your roadmap.