Just Get Off Your Fence

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).


Do you have an area of your life where you sit on a fence because you are afraid to make a commitment or because the cost of it might be too great? You might regard your fence as a place of safety, but it is not. You sit on the fence because not sitting on the fence means that you must make a decision one way or the other. If you get off the fence, you will be forced to commit to something. You will either believe or not believe. You will either have faith or not have faith. You will either accept or reject. You are afraid to commit one way because you might be wrong. On the other hand you are afraid to commit the other way, because you might be wrong. So you sit on the fence because you presume it is easier and safer than letting go of it. It is not easier and it is not safer. It has taken a lot of energy to keep yourself on that fence. You may think your fence of non-commitment is safe, but all it does is keep you in prison without any hope of rescue. You have to risk in order to believe. 


What you might not realize is that staying on the fence is really a choice. It is a choice to remain in bondage instead of discovering the freedom found in letting go. "Now the Lord is the Spirit,” Paul imparts, “and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The Holy Spirit will liberate you from your fence, but you must be willing. You must choose to let go of its false protection, and make a commitment to believe in His faithfulness. The fence does not protect you. It is a place where non-commitment will destroy what little faith you have. 


Before his death Moses spoke to the Israelites and instructed them to choose prosperity and life instead of destruction and death (Deuteronomy 30:11-15). They had remained on their fence afraid to go into their promised land, but now was the time for them to choose. Not stepping out on faith to claim their promise was choosing death over life. Choosing to get off their fence and move into their promise was going to cost them something. They would have to overcome the barriers to their promise. Letting go of the fence means that you must face your own giants. But you do not face them alone. Just as the Israelites moved forward in faith with God's protection, so will you. Getting off the fence does not mean you will fail. It means that you have chosen to trust Him and His promises. It means you have risked in order to believe. You have chosen life.


Your promised land waits. It is a land where walking by faith in God's faithfulness is all that you need. It is a land where you face the unknown with the assurance that all is well in His protection and providence. So let go of your fence. He will not fail you. He will carry you through pain, fear, and doubt to your own promised land because you have chosen to believe Him. Sacrifice your fence, and trust in Jesus Christ who sacrificed all for you. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Just get off the fence so you can live!