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You are no doubt familiar with the time when Jesus walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and Peter decided he wanted to join him. So Jesus invited him to step out of the boat and when Peter did that, he actually walked on water for a few steps, until he took his eyes off of Jesus.
Well, this week I want to talk about stepping out of the boat—being willing to take a step of faith in order to do what you believe God wants you to do. If you’re willing to take a risk, as it were, to experience the new thing that God has for you, you’ll have to step out of the safe boat and do something you’ve never done before, something you couldn’t possibly do unless Jesus invited you and empowered you to do it.
So, the first challenge is to check it out and make sure this new idea or adventure is a God-thing. How do you know? Well, you pray about it a lot, you seek wisdom from godly people, and if it’s from God it will be something that will help and bless others, not something to promote yourself. It will be one of the good works God ordained in advance for you to do, as we read in Ephesians 2:10. Once you are fairly confident that this idea or passion is from God, here are some things to consider—things I’ve learned along the way.
- God often gives us assignments that are outside of our gifting.
It’s true that we all have individual gifts from God and God wants us to use those gifts to serve others.
But in order to do the good works which were ordained in advance for you to do, you will sometimes be out on a limb, in territory that is not only new, but territory that doesn’t fit.
Let me give you one personal example: My skills as a manager of people are not naturally good. But to do the good works God has called me to do, I’ve had to manage people in one capacity or another for many years. It came with the God-given job. So, what do you do when you have to do something outside your gifting? You seek help! It took me too long to figure this out, but finally I have enlisted the help of people who are very good at this—people who have done it and who can teach me things I need to know. What a difference that has made.
So, I just want you to know that the work God calls you to do will have parts that you aren’t particularly good at, and parts you don’t necessarily enjoy. Don’t let that keep you from the good works God has for you to do. Don’t miss the blessing that comes when you step out of the boat with Jesus.