A Promise Not To Wither

We will never find the path God wants us to be on if we walk against the word. I don't know about you but I want to be like the tree planted by a stream of water the Psalmist describes (see Psalm 1:3) and not like the withering fig tree Jesus cursed (see Matthew 21:18-22). Look it up, it's interesting stuff! You see the whole idea of the Christian faith is to abide by God's word and walk in it daily. Regardless of struggle, regardless of what the world says, it is our duty to obey the law of faith Paul talks about in Romans (see Romans 3:27). They say a picture paints a thousand words - unfortunately I don't have a picture so I'll put what I'm trying to say into words: walk by faith and your leaves will never wither.

So back to my first statement, what do I mean about walking against the word?

I've spent the majority of my life thus far wandering around. From city to city, county to county, and job to job. It wasn't until my mid twenties that I really understood what it meant to walk in God's ways. You see I came to the startling revelation that I can believe in God and still not walk with the word but against it. Yes, I can attend 3 church services, watch 16 YouTube videos, and run 2 small groups and still be counteracting what God wishes to do with my life. Our hearts need to be completely sold out to the fact that Jesus is King and we owe our lives to trusting him completely. Further, God does not want us to play on both teams (see Matthew 12:30). We cannot worship him with our mouths but allow our hearts and minds to be hardened by things like lust, greed, worry, and lack of faith. The truth is believing is not enough. It takes alot of faith and renewing our minds in the word to find the the path God has for us.

To keep it simple I want to close with with one thing in mind - Say Yes To The Hard Stuff.

Surrendering your life to Christ means just that. You become a servant to others and a student to the word. Your heart starts to change when you say yes to Jesus and no to secular worldview. In Luke 5 we see a perfect example of saying yes to the hard stuff. After a long day of fishing Peter meets Jesus along the waters edge of a lake and instructs Peter to set his boat back out into the water. From the sound of it Peter didn't find what he was looking for that day. Have you ever worked so hard for something but came up empty handed? Maybe it's peace and quiet. Maybe it's something else. At any rate, doing things on our own can leave us burnt out, confused, and empty handed. Moving on, Peter was pretty quick to shut down the idea of going back out into the water. He was out there all day and didn't find anything - so why bother? But here's the kicker - he replied with "if you say so", and took the leap of faith. He decided to trust Jesus and the results were amazing, Peter caught so much fish the boats began to sink. I'm convinced Peter didn't even know why he was saying yes to Jesus, he just did. Have you ever wondered what would have happened to Peter if he would've said "no thanks Jesus, I'm tired, I'm the professional here, and I'm not going to waste any more time doing this". Peter would've missed out on a huge blessing and a complete life change. From that day forward Peter's life was changed, and furthermore he went on to help others too with the expansion of the Church and spreading of the gospel. Compare this to the rich young ruler in Luke 18. Instead of saying "yes" and finding God's purpose, he went away sad not willing to part with his earthly possessions. I have thought frequently about the possibility for greatness the rich young ruler had for his life that we never got to read about because of his decision. The same can be said for you. What blessings are you missing out on today because you're grasping onto your life with a closed fist? God wants to help you write your story to the likes of a New York Best seller. He does not want mediocracy in our lives but greatness and prosperity.

My desire for you is to think deeply and earnestly about what it means to say yes to Christ and live your life on faith. My hope is that whatever decisions you are making with your life today they involve taking leaps of faith and not walking away sad and discouraged always wondering "what if". Until we completely surrender and live in complete faith we will never know for certain where we're going, and for that matter where we want to be. The truth is every day you are here God has decided to keep breathing his purpose and will into your life - the choice is up to you to use the tools He has given you.

In closing, why should you have faith? Here's why: because God loves you and has a plan for you - but you must board the ship. Walk in the direction of faith and you will find that God will supply you with what you need along the way.