Step out of safe

A few years ago, my husband and I grew tired of sameness. We realised we wanted more out of life than we were experiencing at that time. This inspiration came from several sources, but the prominent of which were, Water Walker teaching series on Youtube by Dr Daniel Dharius and the Don’t Settle for Safe book by Sarah Jakes Roberts. I will encourage you to check them out. From these teachings, we understood why it wasn’t ok to settle for safe because our environment asks us to do so but to reach beyond and venture into unknown territories.

Without going into too many details, I will say that that’s just what we did! We chose to enter into territories that seem bigger than us; this has been a guiding principle for our lives. We set ourselves for God to stretch us through many yeses where we would typically be saying no. Making such choices and decisions has not come easy at all. It has been challenging and frustrating, coupled with many setbacks, but one thing that has been consistent in all this is the ever-presence of God leading and guiding us.

God has made it His mission to show up consistently in our lives in the strangest and insignificant ways. When His word says, I will never leave you nor forsake you, we have found that to be so valid in our life journey. When God commissioned Joshua to take over from Moses, Joshua had no idea of his hurdles. He couldn’t have envisaged Jericho wall crumbling down under his leadership. He got to witness river Jordan parting for him and the Israelites to cross over. But all these did not come easy; if you go back right to the beginning of Joshua chapter 1, you will see God repeatedly commanding Joshua to be strong and courageous. You may have wondered why God had to say this in that short passage often. Well, I have come to understand that Joshua was a man like us, and he needed to be stretched to fulfil the promises of God concerning His children.

6 Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land; I swore to their ancestors to give them.7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 NLT

Why am I telling you all this? Recently, God took me back to the start of my journey for more. It started with the story of Jabez. As a young girl, this story had a profound effect on my life. Jabez was one of the unusual Bible characters featured in a small section of 2 Chronicles chapter 10. He turned up, did his thing, and walked away. Most people who have studied this man are left impacted. This passage reminded me of the number of times I desired to be like Jabez whilst I was growing up. I wanted different, and I kept asking God for different.

9 Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NLT

Jabez was raised in an average family like mine; however, his name was a curse, unlike other Bible characters. His name meant pain because his mum said she gave birth to him in pain. So, I can assume that, throughout his life, he endured pain. If it was in our day, I could see how his friends would shun him, and adults easily reprimand him at the slightest err. I can say that life must have had it for this young man. Then it happened! The light bulb moment of his life. Jabez grew tired of being sick and tired of his own life. He looked around his life and decided that life had got to change for him. Probably like most people, he had been waiting for someone to come and sort out his life for him. As that didn’t pan out, Jabez made the bold decision to reach out to the only one who could make a difference in his life, God Almighty.

He prayed the prayer now popularly known as the prayer of Jabez, and do you know what, the Bible says, the Lord granted him his request! Simple! So, in pondering over this, I wondered how many people have lived like Jabez. In his world, everyone else was doing simply fine, and so it was easy for him to blend in as well. When the decisive moment came, he realised how different his life could be. Irrespective of your current circumstances, I want to ask you this: are you allowing God to stretch you beyond your familiarity? Has your life been normalised by your surroundings where everyone dances to the same tune, and you are content to join in as well? Is stirring the waters around you something you can’t bring yourself to do?

God is always calling you for more; there is no contentment in stagnancy. Your environment must be more expansive than you to allow you to grow. It is known that some goldfish can stunt their growth to the size of their tank; that’s a shame. Are you a goldfish in your surroundings? Have you ceased to grow because of the capacity of your environment? There is an unreached horizon for you, but it will take you deciding like Jabez to walk out of mediocrity. It doesn’t mean that you will turn your back on people, it may happen if the people in your circles are holding you back, but it means choosing you and your destiny more than anything else and allowing the Spirit of God to lead you into what He has purposed for you.

To clear things up a bit, I’m not talking about moving from a £1 balance account to a millionaire balance, erm, well, with God, all things are possible. That’s not the purpose of this shift; this is a mind-shift where you challenge your mind to use all that is available to you. As I mentioned earlier, this shift can be terrifying; you need to constantly rely on the voice of God, which commands you to be strong and courageous repeatedly. If you stick with it and endure to the end, you will walk out of this with your head held high, knowing that you have set a pace for the next generation.

I have purposed in my life to say yes to stuff God bring my way before I think about the how. I have learnt that the how is in God’s hands, and if I try to figure it out, it will hold me back from progress. I will see all the obstacles that would make this an impossible venture. We witnessed this amongst the spies Moses sent out to canvass Canaan. They were sent with one mission; to see if the land was suitable for habitation, but they chose to solutionise the assignment and miss the God factor. Whereas Joshua and Caleb saw the task for what it is and how their God could make the impossible possible. You read all of Numbers chapter 13 for yourself.

30 Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.” 31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” 32 So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. Numbers 13:30-32 NLT.

My challenge for you is that, before you say no to the next thing God has for you, take in a deep breath and ask as Peter did, ‘Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you.’ Step out of the safety of your boat and step into the uncharted waters around you; God has laid out a plan to lead you into your more.

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:28-29 NLT

Look back on your life; how much have you changed from your last assignment? You could be shifting things around you even in the same job, community, church; you name it. Volunteer for the unlikely stuff, sign up to unusual ventures, speak to that neighbour! Yes, it is super uncool and uncomfortable, but like Peter, keep your eye on Christ and don’t worry about what’s going on around you. Decide to make a difference around you.

Finally, where is the Lord sending you and what is your answer? Yours may be to shine your light a little brighter in your workplace or neighbourhood. Or you could be assigned a colleague who is struggling with their life pressures or you could volunteer for a role in church that could see you make a difference in the life of a church member. It comes in many forms but it all begins with you answering to the call of God as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:8 NLT. My dear, step into the unfamiliar and don’t settle for safe and see what God will do through you. Amen

Prayer

Our Father, Thank you for Jesus.
I am grateful that He didn’t settle for safe but gave it all, even His life for me.
I ask that you fill me with Your Holy Spirit to be strong and courageous to take on everything you bring my way with Joy.
Father, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory!
Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!”
And may you grant my request in Jesus name! Amen!

May you be filled with the Fullness of God and the Power of His Love!