“Your journey of growth begins with a single step.”
C. S. Lewis
“It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Have you ever gotten to a place where you are frozen in place, afraid to take another step? I was watching a yacht bounce up and down (way down) in Hong Kong Harbor. I had been invited to go on an evening yacht cruise around the harbor and dinner on Lamma Island. First, I had to get on the boat, but there was no boarding plank or dock. The boat was just moored, bouncing in the wakes of the giant ships moving through the harbor. I had to time my step onto the yacht when it was closest to the wall where it was moored versus the giant gap where you could fall and be crushed. Nothing to it.
However, help had been provided in the presence of a strong guy on the boat and a strong guy on the wall with me. I just had to grab the hand as the boat rocked near and make a quick jump onto the yacht. I almost backed out, but I didn’t want to miss the adventure. So, I took a deep breath, followed the command of the sailor on the ship, and took a leap of faith. I stepped onto the boat, he pulled me in, and I took the first step on an evening of adventure. What if I hadn’t taken the first step?
Forget the Past
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
When I was getting ready to take my first step onto that yacht, I couldn’t keep looking behind me. I had to keep my eye on that next step, or I would miss my chance to jump onboard. Sometimes we get caught up looking back at the way things were or the way we imagined things should be now, and we miss the opportunities in front of us. You can’t move forward if you are looking back.
Put Aside the Weights
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1
I didn’t take luggage with me when I attempted to board the yacht. I had to be able to make that jump without anything weighing me down. I had only my identification papers and money. It was 1994, so I didn’t even have a cell phone, which is good because it would have probably wound up in the bottom of the harbor.
I am the world’s worst at over packing for a trip, so I know what it is like to drag extra baggage through airports and hotels. In the end, it just slows you down. It can even make you miss your flight. Spiritually, we need do let go of the things that are holding us back, like doubt, past negative experiences, our feelings, or fear. Sometimes we have to get rid of physical reminders, like the three large trash bags of teaching materials, old student papers, and articles I threw away when I realized God was not calling me back into teaching in a college setting. It not only freed up closet space, but it made me lighter spiritually. Do you need to let go of something so that you can move forward?
Take the Next Right Step
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105
Sometimes we don’t move forward because we can’t see the big picture. We want to know where we are going. That night on the yacht, I had no idea where we were going, how to get there, or how to get back to where I was staying. I had to trust the captain to know how to navigate the waters and get me where I needed to be. We have a captain who is trustworthy. The psalm tells us that God is a lamp unto my feet, which means I can see the next step clearly while the rest is lost in the fog and darkness. When I make that step, the next step will be made clear. Often, we don’t see the big picture, but we aren’t the ones who are sailing the ship or being the navigator. We just need to take the next right step forward in faith, one step at a time.
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