Stepping into Your New Season
"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday" ( ).
We have those times in our lives when it seems we have stepped from sure footing onto shaky ground. Looking back, we find that everything seemed so certain. But in the present we feel like someone standing on a log in the middle of a river, frantically moving our feet this way and that, with our arms outstretched and trying to keep our balance.
I'm sure that's how Peter felt when he got out of the boat. Along with the other disciples, he was in a storm, but as a fisherman, he was used to that and the boat was a place of safety for him. It was familiar and required relatively little faith to stay in the boat. Despite his fear, he could go under his own strength and do what he knew to do in order to save himself. But the minute he stepped over the side of the boat and placed his foot solidly on the top of that first wave, he was in foreign territory.
Walking on water isn't something you do halfway. In the same way, you either commit totally to the Lord, or you don't. That's where God separates the men from the boys. (No offense ladies.) However unnerving it may be to find yourself standing in the most unlikely, unpredictable circumstances as Peter did, it's really a place of surety. When you put your trust in the Lord and commit to follow Him wherever He leads, you've actually stepped out of the boat and onto the solid rock. God will never allow you to utterly fall when you are living by faith.
Verse six of Psalm 37 says, "He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light." Abraham was counted righteous because of his faith. He left his normal routine in order to follow God's voice. From that day on, his life was changed. When his enemies attacked him, they were destroyed. When people tried to curse him, God cursed them. His life was indelibly etched into the tablets of history.
says, "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and confidence is your strength."
If you are facing a time of uncertainty in your life right now, I beg you to return to the Lord. Orchestrate your schedule in such a way that you can have some time alone with the Lord. Come back to that place of rest, the place where you first met Jesus. You remember it, don't you? It was there, in your “Garden of Eden”, as you walked with Jesus in the cool of the day, that you found your confidence in God. You knew in the deepest part of your soul the reason why you were created. You knew you would never be alone. You knew you could never fail. Your mind was quiet before the Lord, and He spoke without hindrance into your life.
I'm finding more every day how invaluable these regular times with Jesus really are. It's bearing fruit in every area of my life. My joy has increased, which has enabled me to more boldly share the Gospel. I'm able to see past the temporal, frustrating circumstances that I often have to deal with and into God's plan for me. My thoughts are more orderly. There is a peace in my heart that is not shaken by external things. It is wonderful. It's killing every bit of jealousy and strife in me. Worry is becoming less of an issue. Also, it is freeing me to serve others. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.
This is my prayer for you as you step into the next phase of your life, into your new season. May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus (
). And may you also find this beautiful place of rest in the Lord.
Copyright © Paul Dailey. Used by permission.
