Go Boldly Forward
Some, however, made fun of them and
said, “They have had too much wine.”
– Acts 2:13
Acts 2 is the story of a group of outcasts who finally
find their voice. That’s how our pastor summed up Pentecost and the boldness
the Holy Spirit brought to the men and women who were staying in a locked,
upper room, praying even as they waited for something they didn’t fully
understand.
Your life belongs to God, he told the high school graduates.
Put your seatbelt on and get ready. They, of course, have no idea what awaits
them. Thursday night they celebrated with family and friends, beginning a new
chapter of their lives that is full of possibility and hope.
Some of them will go boldly into their dreams. Others
will hold back, uncertain of what God’s calling on their lives really is.
Others will seek the approval of those around them, unwilling to venture out
into the unknown.
I’ve been reading an autobiography by MercyMe lead
singer Bart Millard. He suffered horrific abuse as a child, only to see his Dad
come to Christ and change dramatically. That’s the story line, the movie
version, of it all.
The rest of the story involves a youth group that
welcomed a young man who needed a safe place and a “family” to spend time with
him. And it involved people who believed in his voice and, at times, forced him
to use his talent. I wonder where he would have ended up without the
encouragement and belief of those people.
Even then, Millard thought his journey would be
worship leader and youth minister. He saw seminary and a traditional path. God
had another plan, intervening in such a way that lead Millard into his destiny.
Was it an easy path? Absolutely not. There was no
overnight success story. There was no immediate wealth and fame. There was
struggle and perseverance and finetuning God’s gift. There were people to form
relationships with and a journey to take.
We are quick most of the time to support someone who
is taking a traditional path in life. And there certainly is nothing wrong with
that path if it’s what God has called you to. But trying to stuff a square into
a circle has never been what God intended. We are each unique. We each have a
special calling.
Every moment we waste doing something we weren’t ever
intended to do is a moment we can’t get back. Every step we take on a journey
the world has called us to is a step away from God’s better plan for our lives.
It’s not that He can’t and won’t use us wherever we land. It’s just that God’s
plan is perfect and it’s what is best for our lives.
The disciples didn’t understand what awaited them.
They only knew they were waiting for God to show them the way and then, with
the Holy Spirit filling them up, they stepped boldly forward to proclaim the
gospel of Christ. Peter, who had denied Jesus three times and who was only ever
trained as a fisherman, became a preacher who led 3,000 to know Jesus. He never
again faltered, instead becoming the rock Jesus had called him to be.
What is God’s calling on your life? Go boldly toward
it. Don’t let anyone tell you to hold back, to do what is practical, to be
someone you aren’t. Your future lies before you. It is filled with promise and hope.
Grasp hold of Jesus and take that first step toward God’s plan for your life.
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