| Being a Scary Person for Jesus |
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by Rod Jersak The other day Elisa and I rented the movie "Simon Birch", in which a young boy named Simon continually asks the question, "God, do you have a plan for me?" I believe that God does have a specific purpose and plan for each one of us. This can be very exciting, yet scary at the same time. We all want our lives to have purpose while we are living on this earth. Lately, I have repeatedly been asking God this same question..."God, what are your purposes for my life?" The answer that He has been giving me is to "step out!" I was expecting his answer to be a little bit more specific! God seems to show us only small glimpses of what His purposes and plans are for us, so that we are totally dependent on Him. Jesus models this type of dependency when He says in John 5:19,
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these." The Father wants me to have this same dependency on Him in everything I do. Proverbs 3:5,6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths." I am reminded of when a child first learns how to walk. The mother and father usually call out and encourage the baby to make those faltering, yet bold, steps. At first it seems pretty scary and there are usually a few falls, but the parents are always there to pick the baby up. Soon the baby will be walking. Often I find it is very intimidating to step out and take risks. My fears and insecurities tend to stop me, but when I do step out I know that my Heavenly Father is smiling down on me. In one such situation, I went up to the microphone for the very first time to pray at our corporate prayer meeting. I found it very intimidating to know that Pastor Jan, Pastor Dave, Cynthia Lees and a few others were going to hear my cry to the Lord. Despite my own weaknesses, I stepped out, and as I did, God broke the debilitating fear of what others would think. He released a new boldness and freedom in me. You may be asking yourself, why is he saying all this? I think that God wants each one of us to be a "scary person for Jesus." This is not one who lays on the couch and stares at the weather channel like I sometimes do, nor even one who is necessarily scared of taking a risk (although this can often can be the case). My definition of a scary person for Jesus is someone that leaves his or her comfort zone and steps out into what Jesus wants us to do. This is actually the safest place in the world for us to be, and that's scary for the enemy! Our baby steps lead to walking, and walking takes us places, perhaps down paths we never even dreamed of. When Mother Theresa was in Central America a reporter told her that no one else could ever have done what she had accomplished. The gist of her reply was, "Anyone can do these things; I only do the works of Jesus." Our heavenly Father wants us to step out, even if it is baby steps we take. God blesses the baby steps! In the kingdom of God, our small steps of faith advance the bold purposes of heaven. Rod & Elisa and their 3 girls are a long-time members of WCV. |