All In
All In
As I was deciding what to do my blog on, I am continually reminded of our VBS theme called Make Waves and how close it hits to home for many of us in our daily lives.
First, I want to tell you a story. Many years ago, when I was part of my youth group, we took a trip to an amusement park. For those of you who don’t know, I am from Michigan and Cedar Point is a big rollercoaster theme park in Ohio, so it was a big deal back then to be traveling so far just for the day. The newest roller coaster, the Top-Thrill Dragster had just come out. The whole way there I was excited, I pumped myself up, I made a plan with my friends and when the park opened, we went straight for it. But when I saw it, I froze.
Now it wasn’t the biggest coaster or the longest, but it was the fastest. So, I decided, you know, I’ll build up to it. If I ride all the others, it won’t seem so scary right? My friends and I rode every ride in the park that day, including the tallest one. There was only about an hour left and so once again, we got in line for the Dragster. I was watching the people riding by overhead as the line slowly crept forward. My friend kept asking me “Are you nervous?” “No.” I would say. We got to the front, and I panicked. My friend went without me, and I used the cut line to exit and wait for her at the end of the ride. To this day, I haven’t ridden it. I haven’t had the chance to go back at all.
I feel like our walk with God is kind of like riding that roller coaster. God calls us to this amazing plan. We get so on fire when we ask God into our lives. We are pumped and ready for God to call us to that great, amazing thing that he has for us. Then he shows us his plan or asks something of us that is outside of our area and we get scared. Many times, God calls us out of our comfort zones, to do things we may not be comfortable with, speaking at church, telling a stranger about Jesus, or even going out of our way to help someone.
We live in that comfort zone, it’s nice and safe and familiar. We have our friends we go to church with, our family members that we share our love of Jesus with, and our daily routines. We sing songs on Wednesdays and Sundays and eventually, it runs together. It’s comfortable.
We still say yes to God when we feel that familiar tug on our hearts. “You know what God, I am on fire for you, anything you want in here, in this comfort zone, I’m good with.” And that’s good for a while, but eventually, God calls us to more. To that deeper water. To give more, pray more, trust more, and we get scared. We try to shut off that little voice in us that’s going “Hey, hey. I have more for you. You can do more.” Because we just know it’s going to be uncomfortable. So eventually, we just get stuck in that zone and we miss what God had planned for us. We give in to that fear, that uncertainty, and we pull back.
But the reality is that God has called us to so much more you guys! If we can learn to let go of that fear and take the jump. Say yes to what God has for us there is no limit to the things He can do for us. You might be the only one who can reach that friend of yours that is hurting and needs to hear about Jesus. There might be a family member who is having a hard time and you letting them know that God is still there for them might be just what they need to hear. God might be giving you these missions because you’re the only one who can reach that person or do that thing.
Let’s look at the book of Mark. Specifically, Chapter 1 verses 16 to 18.
16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
18 They immediately left their nets and followed him.
Now read verse 18 again. It doesn’t say they paused, it doesn’t say they checked their calendars, and made sure someone could take care of things while they were gone. No, it says IMMEDIATELY they went with him. Now at this point, the news of Jesus had become commonplace. He had performed some miracles, spoke in many places and his reputation was beginning to precede him even before he would arrive in a town or city. Something to keep in mind is that the people of Israel had been waiting a very long time for the Messiah. Throughout the Old Testament, they had held faith that one day he would come. After the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments, they still held that faith. They passed down the stories God’s promises to their children and their children’s children, and so on. Many men had come before Christ claiming to be the Messiah they had waited so long for but when the time came, when Jesus came to them with that choice, when they looked at that roller coaster-sized request, they NEVER hesitated. They didn’t ask if he was the Messiah or ask to prove his worth with a special miracle. They had that faith in Jesus, that fire inside them that told them they were made for something more than just being fishermen. Were they nervous? I’m sure they were. They were leaving their livelihood behind, their families behind, to follow Jesus and be his disciples.
That same faith that drove these men and 10 others to leave everything they knew behind and follow Christ also lives in us. That same desire manifests itself whenever we are faced with choosing faith over fear and we choose to take that leap and follow Him. Mark 4:30 records the parable of the mustard seed where God likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. Our faith only needs to start that small. Hopefully, it will grow many times over once we listen and follow God but, at that moment, when we ask God to come into our hearts and push us outside of that comfort zone we have set up for ourselves we just need that tiny bit, that tiny push.
God gives us that confidence, but he also gives us that choice. We have to be able to take that step, that leap of faith that says “I don’t know what you have planned for me, but I’m willing to step out of my comfort zone and trust you.” God doesn’t expect us to have all the answers and honestly, most of the time God doesn’t give us all the details either. He simply asks for that willingness, that faith, that fire that we can’t turn off and he will do the rest.
So, as we gear up to go into our VBS season, I encourage you to look deeper into what God is telling you to do. Be willing to look at that roller coaster-sized plan that God has for you and step out on that faith you have. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Kellie Jones joined the NUMC Staff in the summer of 2021 as our Nursery Coordinator. Her energy and cheerfulness is contagious to everyone who works and volunteers with her. She loves Jesus, her family, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.