The older we get the easier it is to fall into a rut of comfort. We become hardened towards the nuances of newness, fearing that there’s something innately evil about venturing off to try something new. (All tech-challenged people stand to your feet and slap a high five!) And perhaps that is why Jesus specifically spoke about the purity and innocence of childlike faith.
2 And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 NASB
I’m not suggesting that you abandon all adult responsibilities. I am, however, asking you to consider where have you stunted your growth by holding back? I’d venture to say that at some point all of us have pulled back on occasions where maybe we could have experienced blessings from obedient faith in stepping out.
Has GOD whispered to you to let go of part of your routine life to step into a faith walk with Him? You would know, especially if it He continues to nudge you. Check it against His Word and pray to Him about it. Ask Him to show you if He is truly saying ‘go.’
To be guarded about our life is not necessarily wrong — in fact, wisdom calls us to discern our every move and to guard our hearts from the influences of the world. But if you continue to hear GOD’s voice speaking the same message in reading Scripture, listening to sermons, in personal Bible study and devotion time, it may be time for you to wake up to your season of change, my Friend.
As I said earlier, adults don’t do change very well. We like the comfort of our routines — the meals we eat, the driving route to go home, the parking spaces that we ‘always’ land, where we choose to sit in our local churches, the restaurants we frequent and the places we go for relaxation — right down to the way we put on our shoes and socks! In fact, many of us refuse to try a different flavor of ice cream! Seriously?!
So, how do we expect to be able to live a life filled with the glory of GOD (and I hear He’s wanting to bless the socks off of you if you’ll let Him) if we choose to remain stuck in the mud? He won’t force us to move. I once heard a preacher say, “GOD won’t move a parked car.” Are you stuck in park by choice? Let that sit with you for a bit.
When I look at the pillars of the faith it leaves me jaw-dropped: Moses, who took GOD at His Word and did things that would have been impossible without the power of GOD. Ruth, who trusted in GOD Whom she had not known except for the living example of Naomi and later became part of the bloodline of Jesus. Esther, who trusted GOD with her life when she awoken to the fact that was why she had been selected to royalty to save a nation of people. Noah, who had no clue of what rain looked like but spent hundreds of years in obedience believing that his mission was from GOD and was saved. The Apostles and Disciples of Jesus at the time He walked the earth, who abandoned everything to follow Him, not knowing what they had signed up for, yet believed.
Seasons of change will continue to move through our lives and move us through life. And I believe that GOD orchestrates them for our benefit. He wants us to grow and experience all that He has for us here. It’s all for His Glory. When we step back, not from fear but in awe of what He’s done simply because we chose to yield to Him, we will have a lot to share with the ones coming up behind us.
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT
If we will trust Him with our lives (and yes, He knows we struggle with that but He is patient), we will experience life with Jesus in the most phenomenal way. It was in His blueprints all along, Friend. Some of us are stubborn and fight it, resulting in delayed blessings. But once we finally come around to letting our ways go, we have everything to gain. We ultimately discover that what we held on to, that crazy routine that felt so comfy, does not compare to the joy and flourishing life that Jesus had for us all along and we will have wished we’d done it sooner.
Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and into your season of change? Grab your shoes and let’s go … Jesus is calling!
I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~
LindaRJohnson, TitusTwo Visionary
Titus Two 