How many
times have we heard that we need to move forward in Jesus Christ, and let go of
the comfortable place where we have settled? We need to get out of the safety
of the boat, and launch out into the depths of His perfect will. “Deep calls to
deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over
me” (Psalm 42:7). The depth of the Holy Spirit calls to the depth of man and
bids him, “Come. Step out of the boat, and launch out into the deep with me!” Do
I long for His waves and breakers to sweep over me carrying me to new heights?
If I truly long for these unknown depths of complete surrender, I must let go of
all that has defined who I am.
How many of
us allow our failures, pains, attitudes, and even sins that were crucified with
Christ to hold us back? Christ calls us to let go of all that has defined who we
have been. I must let go of what I consider the “security” of the boat. There is
no security in the boat I have constructed. There is no security in false hopes
and dreams that offer nothing in the end. That boat is subject to the waves and
storms of life. That boat can sink. But I will discover when I let go of my
self-constructed identity, and step out into the depths of the unknown in
Christ, I am at last standing strong upon faith in Him, and not sinking into the
depths of my own despair.
When I step
out of that boat, I am so longer the child who failed at sports, or math. I am
no longer the person who could not quite get things together, or a person who
has been hurt because of teasing. I am no longer someone who lets feelings of
rejection, whether imagined or real, define who I am. I am no longer one who
needs the world to approve of me. I have found my worth in Christ. I am no
longer a failure. I am no longer ruled by fear. I am no longer “not quite good
enough”. In Jesus Christ I am a new creature... a new person... a new identity
in Him!
In the book,
The Shack by William Young, Mack stands on the end of a dock with Jesus,
and stares at the surface of the lake. Jesus asks Mack to take his hand, and
step off the dock, but Mack can't let go of the security of the dock. “So, why
do I have so much fear in my life?” he asks. Jesus' answer cuts to the core of
the issue. “Because you don't believe. You don't know that I love you. The
person who lives by his fear will not find freedom in my love.” We must not be
afraid to move forward. Fear will hold us in our own self-constructed boat!
There is freedom from all that has defined us when we step out into the unknown
in faith.
Each day
step out of the boat and discover your newness in Him again and again. The old
will fail you. The new in Christ will never fail. Launch out into the depths of
what has been your uncertainty. You will find it the most certain thing you have
ever done.
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