Digging In?

This week I was talking with Carissa and sharing with her that God is trying to stretch her, get her out of her comfort zone. I know that she knows this, but sometimes we all need a reminder. I know from experience that getting out of your "normal" is scary! I told her to pretend that one of her friends wants to take her on a trip. She has two choices: to dig her heels in and say no the entire time her friend is pulling her along and begging her to go OR to walk along beside and soak up every moment of the trip. 

I'll admit there have been many times when I know God is leading me in a new direction, and instead of saying, "Lead the way!", I pull in the opposite direction, digging in my heels and groaning. In the midst of the the struggle, I miss all the beauty I could be soaking up along the way. So many times, we are afraid of the "hard" or "scary" things, but if you've ever watched a storm roll in, you know that in the midst of the storm, there is beauty. You realize, too, that the beauty of the rainbow and green plants that we see after the storm would not be possible without the rain.

Last night in our women's Bible study, we were reading in Matthew 4. Verses 18 - 22 share about Jesus calling some of his disciples. The words that jumped out at me were "at once" (verse 20) and "immediately" (verse 22). These were men who left not only their "careers", but their families. All without any hesitation! I wonder how I can read scripture and "see" all of Jesus' miracles and teaching, know what He went through to restore relationship and still hesitate when He asks me to follow wherever He is leading. I pray that I learn to immediately say, "Yes, Lord! Wherever You want me to go, whatever You want me to do, whoever You want me to reach out to!"  I don't want a fear of the unknown to hold me back because God did not give me a spirit of fear. I pray that for you, also.

Dawn