No Life Jackets

God will never have us walk away from one opportunity if there isn’t a greater one looming in our future.

But what happens when God snatches our life jackets away and throws us into the deep end? How do we respond when he asks us to do something that may leave us looking more like a heretic than a hero?

When I think of all the men who did great exploits for God, my mind doesn’t rush to remember the one who brought down a giant, the one who declawed a lion, or even the one who conquered a kingdom. Instead, my mind races toward a man who followed his faith and ended up in God’s hall of fame. If we retraced Abraham’s journey, we would discover his story wasn’t marked by a major epic moment but rather a series of serious surrenders. Maybe that’s where the majority of us live, and maybe that is where we best live out our faith, in the space between epic and ordinary.

We don’t achieve assignments of that magnitude every day—sometimes ever. Forging a nation came with risk and occasional regret. The quest to walk out God’s promises involves conquering situations and sometimes conquering ourselves if we get in the way. God didn’t just call Abraham to walk into prophetic promises. He also called him to walk away from kindred and country. That may be the hardest part of faith: letting go of something familiar so that we can find our future. Maybe, like Abraham, you long to do something that lands you outside of what is familiar or holds family ties. Although I cannot promise that your journey will be easy or without effort, I can assure you that receiving the promises of God will be worth more than anything you leave behind.

It is important to remember that each of us has the potential to exceed our goals. God isn’t just interested in CEOs and superstars. God is as invested in our lives as he is in the names that flash across tabloid news. He blesses those with vision, goals, and faith that God can accomplish great things through us. When God’s grace combines with our human grit, anything is possible.