Stepping out of the Boat

So, we are in the boat; our eyes focus on the storm, and we hear the continual call to step out. We cry out once again, 

 "But Lord, the boat is sinking!" 

But isn't that why we must step out of the boat? It began to sink weeks and months, maybe years ago, and after realizing that event after event was beyond our control, we cried out. Eventually, we stepped out, and it was right, and it felt right. We looked at the scriptures, "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path (Psalm 119:105 ). We took a deep breath. God is in control. 

Life is a journey. Along the journey, there are life lessons we sign up for; others come with just being a part of the human race. The quality of a lesson learned is based on how we receive and respond to the assignment. But most of us are historians; we return to that last challenging experience and approach it from a place of fear.

We realize that though we are not physically on that boat anymore, our minds are, and fear competes for our attention. However, we cannot allow fear to convince us that we must be in control to solve life's challenges, big or small. We must steer our minds away from that image of the boat we once refused to get off. We must "Walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). Even though the next leg of the journey leads us to face another challenging issue, causing us to shift our weight to steady the "boat" that feels like it will sink, we are not falling. We are in the divine hands of God. He has the wheel and will sort out each event in the direction it will have to go according to His plan and purpose. 

Sometimes God does not call us to step out of the boat immediately. But you can trust him. A call by God's voice stirs an obedient and immediate response in motion. "It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit," says the Lord of hosts- Heaven's Armies (Zechariah 4:6). God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…" (Psalm 46:1-2).

"But Lord, the boat is sinking; situation after situation comes up to remind me that I am not out of troubled waters yet."

What we don't focus on, and must, is that the Lord is in the boat or on the water with us in the storm. We can walk through the impossible unharmed because the Lord of hosts is with us.

When we set our minds on God's word, "which gives us the peace that passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:5-7),

and leave the outcome in God's hand, he will lead us to a good path. We cannot see ahead entirely, for the Lord has given us a glimpse of what is to come. So, we must wait. We must stand to see the salvation of our Lord. He is fighting the battle, waging war against every stronghold that has bound us, even from generation to generation, not letting go of the souls that once could not prevail through the darkness. It's a fight, but it's God's fight for sure! He cannot lose. He will not concede, for His light shatters the darkness and sends it on flight.

The boat is sinking, the one we stepped out of that carried the weights and cares we once were suffocated by. Yet, we are confident. Through the storm, the Master speaks to the waves beneath our feet. And when we are in the deepest waters, and the boat is a long way off and cannot provide us a safe journey, even if we could attempt to turn around and get back in, we can trust him. Indeed, there is only one way to the other side of our Jordan, and the path is through the deep, the waves, the storm, the wind, the rain, the sun, and the salty tears. God is in control. He who holds tomorrow holds us even then, closer than ever before. We have God's support from the start of the day to the sun's sure rest. As we travel across the horizon, we will see the land that awaits us, first the shoreline, then to the safe ground; the Lord will give us rest - a new place, a new way, and a new life.

As My Father Tell Me Copyright †2014 - 2023

Day 3: DEVOTION

Sit down. Close your eyes. Meditate on this one thing: What’s strong enough to weaken fear? Now, adjust your posture and lean forward. Listen. Focus on the gentle still voice that whispers the answer: “God’s love.” Now, taste and see that what you have heard is good! Stand up. Open your eyes. Look up and declare His message aloud and loudly: “God’s perfect love casts out all fear.”

God’s love leaves no sincere seeker empty-handed. The declaration is a fact whether you choose to believe or doubt its validity. Conversations may even challenge the hope-filled person, but not for long. When, in God’s time, you are to experience the fullness of His deliverance from the fear of _____(You fill in the blank), you will know this perfect love. You will know it because God’s love overthrows the controlling factor(s) in the way of you fulfilling your purpose and the very thing that prevents you from experiencing His perfect love.

1 John 4:18 (NIV)

DAY 3: THE EMPTY CHAIR

An open door led to a dimly lit room.

Its four-paned window welcomed the final hours of sunlight beaming swirling dust particles that filled the air.

The empty chair was there

Beneath the wooden clock.

It was where I chose to sit and stare;

Then, quietly, I began to rock.

The seat was short and round,

Not made for sitting long,

It was just a chair for thinking

About life and all its wrongs.

I found myself still yearning for

A love that has no fear,

To suddenly be viewing

My flesh was no longer there.

‘Twas bones I saw without the flesh

Resting on that wooden chair,

Calling my attention

To a message I had to hear.

The message was the gospel

that speaks to hearts that seek                                

An answer to the fear, the hurt,

And issues that make it weak.

My forever grace is with you

And mercy is new every day,

To lead you to My purpose

Each and every step of the way.

Until you sit there satisfied

Content with just My plan,

You’ll rise up from the wooden chair

And still won’t understand.

I am Spirit, says the Lord

And jealous for more time,

I purchased you for Me and

You will always be my child.

My eyes looked up

4:18 on the clock!

God’s met me once again.

His perfect love drives out all fear.

Compelled to now release my pain,

I left my fear on the empty chair.         

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