Are You Afraid to Leave Where You Are?

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:8 

Afraid to leave where you are?

We humans are funny the way we think, aren't we? We get stuck (be it in a relationship, a job, or a way of thinking) and we cry to God for help. He provides a way out , but it nearly always requires something risky on our part. So we spin our wheels hoping the eight hundredth time will be a charm. We get sick and tired of being sick and tired, but never sick enough to take the step God instructed us to take. Am I right?

Why do we do this to ourselves? Because we're scared, that's why! What if the new life is worse than where we are now? What if we end up so far outside our comfort zone we forget why we left what was familiar? What if we can't come back to what's familiar? Burning bridges is scary stuff!

How do you find the courage to move to a new land? What is the key to getting unstuck? I believe it's hidden under the rock called Obedience. See, obedience recognizes the authority of God and doesn't care what our fears say. We have this idea that we cannot move when God says because we subconsciously believe that fear is an excuse God will accept. He will not. We must realize that in His great wisdom, God has supplied obedience as a shield that is overlaid with courage which will give His followers enough power to trudge through the fire of fear and doubt and get to the place to which He has called us.

Believe me, you do not want Him to push you or drag you! This will bring about pain that you simply could do without.

Allow obedience to be a holy distraction that muffles the noise of the what-ifs. Be so focused on pleasing God no matter what, and watch what happens! It's what we do when we love Him; we speak His love language, and it mobilizes us with supernatural energy. God responds to obedience: It starts as an act of the will--a first step--but then He responds to that obedience, and He causes us to fly!

We're not going to get through this life successfully without stepping through the fog of the unknown. Sometimes the will to obey will be the only way we will leave our stuck places. Obedience has a conjoined twin---faith. You can't have one without the other. Trust God that these two are all you need to move forward.

May I just say that uncertainty is the stuff of wild adventures with the Almighty? Your familiar place with all of its uncomfortable comfort is a sorry substitute for what awaits you on the other side of obedience. Know that He holds your hand every second, but He won't do the stepping out for you.

Trust Him, My Friend. Go forward in obedience and send me a postcard from the land of, "I-Made-It!-He-Really-Is-Faithful-Just-Like-He-Said!