Are you struggling to move forward? Are you feeling convicted by your lack of movement in a certain area?
When God called me to step out and begin serving the inner city, just 7 miles from my home, I knew it was a specific call to “go.” (stop by tomorrow as my new book Graffiti, which tells part of the story, will be pre-launching for FREE. Want to know more and get the first chapter NOW, sign up here.)
Yes, I questioned and balked:
God, are you serious?
What do I have to offer there?
But God, I wanted to serve somewhere “more exotic.” You know, Africa!
Is it safe?
Am I equipped for such work?
Knowing there was a “specific” nudge on my heart to go, I did. I began learning and serving in the inner city, as well as serving at my old capacity — teaching, speaking, etc. I just knew I was superwoman and could do it all.
But the point was not that I “do it all,” the point was that I obey what God had placed in my heart.
Reading the story of the rich young ruler found in Matthew 19:16, I knew what I had to do. I had been trying to live in two different worlds, while God nudged me to leave one and embrace the other. Just like the young ruler wanted to keep all his riches and follow Jesus, Jesus asked him to leave it all (in his case, actually give it all away) and follow.
Leaving behind our familiar is hard.
Sometimes it’s our pride that stands in the way, other times it’s the fear of the unknown the hinders our journey. But either way, we will not find the peace and joy in our steps until we are surrendered to the nudging in our heart. When Jesus says “go”, He doesn’t mean pack up your past and carry it onward with you — no, He means leave it all behind and step out into a new journey following Him to uncharted ground.
Do you feel stagnant in your journey? Could it be that you haven’t left the old behind to step into the new?
What are you going to leave behind?