Steadfast

Recently I have begun a deeper study into the book of Matthew. I have truly loved all the things that I am reading and learning. The one verse that still gets me though is when Jesus goes up to Simon also known as Peter and his brother Andrew and tells them to drop their nets and to follow Him, and that He will make them fishers of men; they do, no questions asked. They had unwavering trust from that one statement Jesus made and the completely gave their lives to Him. It is so hard for us to drop our nets our follow Him. Notice it was about making them fishers of men, not about anything for the glory of themselves, but for others and trusting in the unknown road that lies ahead. Not everyone would be so quick to drop their nets and follow if they knew what the path looked like. God never promised an easy, squeaky clean life when you follow Him.

“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly.”

A.W. Tozer

When He calls you, you will not be able to say no. There will be this fire ignited within the depths of your soul that will not go away. Every turn points you back to where he is trying to lead you. He knit you from inside the womb, He knows your heart and your desires. He created you to do great things for Him not for yourself. I had this vision of my life a few years ago of what I would be doing and how I wanted to help people. I can tell you now that what my visions were look nothing like my life is now. There were plenty of times where I questioned God and honestly sometimes thought He was crazy. There were many times I questioned because it’s not like my past is perfect and the fear of my mistakes began to cloud my vision of the future He had for me. I let my shortcomings and bad decisions become louder than His truth and my darkness to cloud His light. I realized when I was reading the book of Matthew, it is not like Simon, Andrew, James and John made the perfect choices; they believed in Him with their whole hearts and trusted in the truth that He can provide for their life and the lives of others. When we make mistakes, and there will be plenty, we are able to repent to the most gracious Father and renew our hearts and souls.

I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity. -C.S . Lewis

C. S. Lewis (2014). “God in the Dock”, p.48, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Just when you find yourself getting to a place of comfort, you are going to find that He is going to push you back into that uncomfortable spot again because that’s where our faith grows. The more reading and learning that I have done in the Bible I am realizing that the growing and learning that I can do will never end. Every time I read something that I may have read a few times, I take something different away. There are so many ways to bring God’s love into this world, that is part of choosing to follow Him; we are to go out and speak His truth into the lives around us. You just have to rest in Him and find where you are called to serve Him.

When the feelings of incompleteness arise, you need to look to His truth to remind you of where you came from, not what the world can offer you. Even though the path ahead of you will have some curves and some valleys, in the end if you hold tight to His truth, it will guide your heart in the direction He wants to lead you. Whether you realize it or not, you are Chosen. He has chosen you from the very beginning and designed you for His purpose so don’t you forget it.