“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two
brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for
they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you
fishers of men.’ At once they left their
nets and followed Him.” Matthew 4:18-22
Our church is doing a 50 day study called “An (un)Ordinary Day with Jesus.” This week’s lesson is about faithfully following Jesus. In the introduction for this week, our minister, Craig, wrote:
"Following involves movement. It involves motion. And in following we give up the right to control the outcome. Following Jesus means we release the burden of having to have things our own way, and simply follow Him in every part of our being – thoughts, motives, and actions.”
God is taking me somewhere I don’t want to go. It has been a very long journey. It has been a journey filled with one obstacle and one closed door after another. At times I feel like Joseph must have felt. This is a journey that most of my friends think is crazy. And there are many, many, times when I feel unsure too.
I do not know the final earthly destination of this journey. But I do know that while I am walking on this path, God is teaching me many very important things. He is teaching me patience and perseverance (a lot of patience and perseverance). He is teaching me to trust Him and not get discouraged by what I see and hear in the earthly realm. He is teaching me to hear His voice and how to discern what is His voice and not my own imagination. He is teaching me that I do have a relationship with Him and that I do hear Him ~ even when things don’t seem to be going the way I thought they would. God is teaching me that I have courage that I never thought I had in me because He is with me and He gives that courage to me. I am learning that I am not a quitter even though I thought I always gave up too quickly when things become too hard. I am learning that sometimes following Jesus can be very, very lonely when Jesus asks you to go somewhere where others think you shouldn’t go. But I’m also learning that it’s in my loneliest times that I press into Him and rely on Him the most.
This has been a very hard journey and one I haven’t always liked being on. But God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams while I am waiting and walking with Him. I am learning to trust Him no matter what. I am learning to surrender to Him and allow Him to do His good work ~ and He doesn’t need my advice or my help.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean that we get to go where we want to go or do what we want to do. It isn’t always easy and it may even look like we are going in the wrong direction at times. But when we follow Jesus, really follow Him, we must eventually get to this place called Surrender.
Surrender. It’s been a long, long journey for me to get to this place. I haven’t always enjoyed the trip and I did not come without a fight. But I am so glad that I finally made it here.
Remember: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
Precious Jesus, thank You so much for bringing me on this journey and for teaching me so many wonderful truths. Thank You for Your strength and courage as I face each obstacle. Thank You for teaching me perseverance and for not letting me give up. Thank You for helping me to soar, run and walk when I think I can’t go any further. Thank You for sticking with me as I fought You on our way to Surrender. And thank You most of all for getting me here to this place called Surrender. ~robin
Our church is doing a 50 day study called “An (un)Ordinary Day with Jesus.” This week’s lesson is about faithfully following Jesus. In the introduction for this week, our minister, Craig, wrote:
"Following involves movement. It involves motion. And in following we give up the right to control the outcome. Following Jesus means we release the burden of having to have things our own way, and simply follow Him in every part of our being – thoughts, motives, and actions.”
God is taking me somewhere I don’t want to go. It has been a very long journey. It has been a journey filled with one obstacle and one closed door after another. At times I feel like Joseph must have felt. This is a journey that most of my friends think is crazy. And there are many, many, times when I feel unsure too.
I do not know the final earthly destination of this journey. But I do know that while I am walking on this path, God is teaching me many very important things. He is teaching me patience and perseverance (a lot of patience and perseverance). He is teaching me to trust Him and not get discouraged by what I see and hear in the earthly realm. He is teaching me to hear His voice and how to discern what is His voice and not my own imagination. He is teaching me that I do have a relationship with Him and that I do hear Him ~ even when things don’t seem to be going the way I thought they would. God is teaching me that I have courage that I never thought I had in me because He is with me and He gives that courage to me. I am learning that I am not a quitter even though I thought I always gave up too quickly when things become too hard. I am learning that sometimes following Jesus can be very, very lonely when Jesus asks you to go somewhere where others think you shouldn’t go. But I’m also learning that it’s in my loneliest times that I press into Him and rely on Him the most.
This has been a very hard journey and one I haven’t always liked being on. But God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams while I am waiting and walking with Him. I am learning to trust Him no matter what. I am learning to surrender to Him and allow Him to do His good work ~ and He doesn’t need my advice or my help.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean that we get to go where we want to go or do what we want to do. It isn’t always easy and it may even look like we are going in the wrong direction at times. But when we follow Jesus, really follow Him, we must eventually get to this place called Surrender.
Surrender. It’s been a long, long journey for me to get to this place. I haven’t always enjoyed the trip and I did not come without a fight. But I am so glad that I finally made it here.
Remember: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
Precious Jesus, thank You so much for bringing me on this journey and for teaching me so many wonderful truths. Thank You for Your strength and courage as I face each obstacle. Thank You for teaching me perseverance and for not letting me give up. Thank You for helping me to soar, run and walk when I think I can’t go any further. Thank You for sticking with me as I fought You on our way to Surrender. And thank You most of all for getting me here to this place called Surrender. ~robin
