Getting Our Feet Wet
By: Julie Willoughby
We are in the middle of an exciting week of SCUBA VBS here at Dutilh learning all about God’s character! The water theme has been quite the hit with the hundreds of kids we have the opportunity to “pour” into this week (no pun intended!).
I always love the week of VBS because it gives me renewed energy and excitement for my walk with Jesus. I love singing songs through dynamic worship, doing fun experiments with the kids, and being reminded that God can do some amazing things throughout this week to minister to all the volunteers and kids!
Most recently God has been ministering to me and teaching me some of my own bible school lessons and more importantly about what it looks like to have obedience. The word “obedience” is not a word I usually associate with lots of energy and excitement like the energy of VBS, but it sure does have electrifying results when we act on it. Obeying God can sometimes be scary and tricky at times. We always want to follow God’s plans for our lives, but we don’t always know exactly what He wants us to do.
Something that I have been reminded of in my faith is that God doesn’t always “layout” the plans for us, BUT He does have a good and perfect plan. This plan sometimes requires me to step out in faith and be obedient to doing my part of following him, even when I don’t know where I’m going. In John Ortberg’s book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat”, he shares with his readers that God is always calling us to move and that when we say yes and move with God’s leading, we will learn and grow. John Ortberg says, “If I am going to experience a greater measure of God’s power in my life, it will usually involve the first-step principle. It will usually begin by my acting in faith—trusting God enough to take a step of obedience. Simply acknowledging information about his power is not enough. I have to get my feet wet.”
Are you stepping out in obedience today by getting your feet wet? I know that it’s scary to step out of our comfort zones and trust that God is going to lead. However, the scarier thing is what will happen if we don’t step out of our comfort zones. I don’t know about you, but I want the best plan for my life, and that’s God’s plan! To live out God’s best plans for us, we must be willing to obey His call and take the first step. We may make a few mistakes along the way, but God will honor our obedience by getting our feet wet!
My prayer for all of us is that we would take a step today, tomorrow, or later this week as an act of obedience. We may be walking into the unknown, but God’s hand will be there to guide us.
“You were made for something more than merely avoiding failure. There is something inside you that wants to walk on the water- to leave the comfort of routine existence and abandon yourself to the high adventure of following God.” – John Ortberg