Day 19 of 21 Days of Courage

Matthew 14:31

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.
“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
 

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There used to be a really popular Christian bumper sticker that said, “Know Jesus, no fear.” Well, that’s a cool little Christian cliché…but it’s dead wrong.

Here is a deep truth about getting out of the boat and doing a little water-walking - the fear will never go away. Why? Because each time I want to grow, it will involve going into new territory, taking on new challenges. And each time I do that, I will experience fear again because...

 

fear and growth are a package deal.

 

About a year and a half ago I hit a wall spiritually. What I sensed God saying was, Pete, I want you to give up your need for clarity. You always want a fail-proof plan. You always want to work with guarantees that something’s going to be successful before you pull the trigger. God was teaching me, in this moment, that I don't need all of the information to be able to step out in faith.

Like a lot of you I’m driven by information, by knowledge, by knowing. We want unbeatable odds. We want guarantees. We think the more spiritually mature you are the more certainty we should have. But the fact is, the more spiritually mature you are the less certainty you need. We want to see the last step before we take the first step.

 

We spend so much time trying to see the end that
we never get around to the beginning.

 

Is it possible that right now in your life you’re paralyzed? Do you feel like you can’t start until you know how it ends? I believe to live the life God’s called you to, at some point, you’ve got to let go of that need to know every single step along the way and embrace the fear in order to grow. 

-Pete