Has God ever put something on your heart to do that and it makes you feel uncomfortable? He has done it to me MANY times and today is no different.
For years I have written blogs and taken photos which I posted on WordPress, Blogger and even Facebook Notes. Some of these post I shared with close family and very few friends but felt more at ease sharing with strangers who may or may not see what I posted. A few weeks ago, I heard the Lord say, "It's time to share. What good does it do if you're the only one who sees it?" My heart began to race, my fingers turned to ice and my stomach felt as though it was churning at the thought of my friends reading what I wrote but I knew that this was something I HAD to do. That same night, I re-designed my website and Facebook page in preparation to share and I shared it with approximately ten people to get their feedback. While they were all positive and supportive, I still couldn't take the next step and share it on my timeline.
Yesterday at church, the Pastor read Luke 5:4 (NLT) where Jesus says to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish." Immediately, I heard God speaking to me, not only about sharing my blogs and photos with others but about taking more risks when it comes to following Him. There are many times when I feel led to walk up to a stranger and let them know God loves them but fear held me back. There are moments when God tells me to go somewhere or do a certain thing and I ignore the unction. There is something so vulnerable about sharing your thoughts and experiences with people whom you may not know. A whole list of 'what ifs' come to mind but I am learning that faith requires risk.
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Faith is taking the first step when you don't see the whole staircase." Hebrews 11:1 says that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," then the rest of the chapter goes on to list those whose lives were marked by God because they chose to step out in faith. For every example of faith there was a moment when the person had to take the first step to do something they had no paradigm for. Noah built the ark for floods that were unheard of. Abraham left his home to go to an unknown destination. Moses went against a Pharaoh carrying a cane and the words God gave him. Joshua and his army walked around a city every day for seven days. With all of these biblical examples along with those in my life who chose to risk it all for God daily, I can't help but think, what am I so afraid of?
To some of you reading this, I know you may be thinking, "what's the big deal?" For me, it may be something a minor as sharing my heart with friends and people I may not know but for you it may be something different. What is it that God is calling YOU to do? What is it that is tugging at your heart but you feel afraid to step towards? What is calling you out of your comfort zone?
When Jesus spoke to Simon in Luke 5, it was after Simon had been out all night fishing and he didn't catch a thing. He was cleaning his nets when Jesus asked him to go back out onto the water. Not only did He tell Simon to go back out, Jesus called him out to a place that was deeper than where he was before. That meant less security and more risk. He had to go farther away from the safety of the shore and into deeper waters. He also had to do it while he was probably tired, frustrated and ready to go home. Imagine working all day and then right before you clock out, someone tells you to stay longer and work harder. Not only did Jesus tell him to go out farther, He told Simon to let his nets downs again
I love Simon's response to Jesus in Luke 5:5, “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” But if you say so, I'll do it! What would happen if this was our response to God each time He calls us out of our comfort zone? What if we would just be honest and say, "Lord, I'm afraid but if You say so, I will do it!"
So here I am... stepping out on faith and sharing my heart and my life with you. I pray that you will be blessed but even more, I pray that you feel challenged to take your own step of faith. You never know what God has in store for you. For me, the freedom of knowing that I am no longer disobedient to God and taking that deep breathe after hitting that 'post' button is enough reward.
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