I dare you to do it again
One of my favourite stories in Scripture is Peter walking on water (Matt 14:22-36). It’s hard to imagine what it must have felt like to tentatively ease out of the boat and trust that the liquid lake would take his weight. It had never worked before but at the invitation of Jesus, Peter dared to try.
Maybe it’s the reason the song Oceans has been precious to me in recent years. It draws on the imagery of Peter and invites us to dare and dream.
“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me.”
My life has been punctuated by trust without borders moments. Times like selling up in the UK to move to New Zealand or stepping into the Senior Pastor role. The thing I love about these steps is that you get to see God move in miraculous ways. There was a time when I wrote those stories down because I wanted to remember them all. I love to share them with people and watch their eyes bulge and jaws drop as God defies their logic.
But then I’m reminded of the story of a wealthy businessman who felt God tell him to give everything away. He was sharing in a church service one day about how he had been obedient to that nudge and then seen God restore it all back to him. As people sat amazed, the man sat down only to be tapped on the shoulder by an elderly lady who said, “I dare you to do it again.”
It’s easy to say that we trusted God once or to talk about things we’ve seen God do in the past. However, I have come to believe that every step of faith is preparation for a bigger step in future. Faith is not a once in a lifetime decision but a daily determination to trust God with more.
Think about the tragic entry of sin into Eden. Adam and Eve ate fruit in rebellion against God’s clear instruction. It was a moment when complete reliance on God turned into complete reliance on self and every one of us has followed this pattern ever since.
This is why I see faith as a journey. In our following of Jesus, God is working Eden out of us. He is weaning us off of self-reliance and teaching us that He is completely capable of the full weight of our trust. Perhaps this is why steps of faith feel so hard. We’re giving up control and placing our reliance on someone else. This is why worship, Scripture and prayer are so important. They enable us to discover more about our incredible and faithful God so that putting our trust in Him becomes the most obvious thing to do.
So what does stepping out of the boat look like for you today? Where do you notice a hesitancy to trust the Lord? I dare you to take the lyrics of Oceans and make it a prayer: “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders…” I wonder where that step will take you.
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>