When is the last time your heart was beating out of your chest with the possibility of wild success or epic failure? Those two things come hand in hand. If there’s a possibility of wild success, then there’s also a possibility of epic failure. And if there’s a chance of epic failure, then guess what … there’s also a slight chance of wild success.
When is the last time your heart was racing like that? Maybe it’s been a long time, or maybe it’s been never.
Remember the story of the disciples in the boat in the middle of a storm, and Jesus comes walking up to them on the water. Imagine Peter sitting there in the boat with his heart racing. He’s thinking I might just be able to walk on the water too, there’s a chance I could with Jesus. But there’s also a chance I may sink and drown. Oh yes, his heart must have been beating out of his chest. In front of him was the possibility of wild success or epic failure.
Peter takes a step out of the boat, and he starts walking on the water. Was that at all safe? Oh no it wasn’t! Was that a chance for epic failure? You bet it was! In fact, Peter got scared and started sinking.
You and I like SAFE today, don’t we? We avoid the risk of failure, the risk of judgment, the risk of rejection by never daring to get out of the boat. We know what’s safe and on most days we don’t dare to tip toe out of the safety. We build our lives within this sweet little comfort zone that insulates from disappointment and failure. We may not be real happy in here, but at least we’re comfortable and safe.
But understand what’s happening here. Your spirit is dying where it’s comfortable and safe. Your relationships are dying, your hopes and your dreams are dying, and your potential is dying.
Jesus is inviting you to take a risk with him and do something incredible, but you’ll have to get out of your boat.
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 in the Message Translation helped define BIG Life for me – “I long for you to enter this wide open spacious life. We didn’t fence you in, the smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively.”
What this is saying is, HEY, THE GOOD STUFF HAPPENS OUT HERE. Out of the boat. Outside the walls of your comfort zone, out here where life is risky and failure and disappointment are a big possibility. But it’s also the land of fulfillment and happiness like you’ve never known. What God has asked us to do is take a risk. Anything is possible in your life if you’re willing to take some risks.
Step out on the water and be willing to sink. That’s the only way you’ll ever get the opportunity to take even one step on the water. Show up and be willing to fail. Be willing to be bad at something long enough to get good at it. Be willing to look completely foolish. I’ll never forget our very first live mentoring session. We had a studio set up in the corner of our master bedroom with all the fancy lights and cameras. We had about 20 people watching online live and I was certain I had hit the big time. Then I said my farewell and nothing happened. Lonnie gives me the motion to keep going, we were still rolling. What was happening was we had no idea how to stop the broadcast. So I literally started dancing in front of the camera while my husband frantically pushes every button to stop recording. We had to be real bad for a long time, to finally get good.
And that’s what most of us aren’t willing to do. We have all this potential inside of us given to us by our creator, but we aren’t willing to be bad first to reach that potential. We want to be instantly awesome. Well, that’s simply not the way it works. Instantly awesome wasn’t in your past and it isn’t in your future, so you can stop waiting on it. Luke 16:10 tells us if we are faithful with little, then more will be given. We don’t start with more. We start with little.
A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships were built for. You weren’t created for a safe life. If your life has become stale and stagnant, that’s because you’re sitting still. You aren’t here to live a boring life. The truth is a boring life is the result of a little life lived within the confines of our comfort zone and that’s not what Jesus had in mind when he sacrificed his life for yours. He gave his all so that you would give your all.
Fight the pull of boring. Resist the urge to keep mindlessly doing the same boring things in routine, just because it’s what is easy. Want to know what’s wrong with our world today? It’s the fact that life has become so easy. We can survive and live a pretty okay life with about a 20% effort. And here inside the walls of our comfortable life where ease is our number one goal, our spirit is dying of boredom. Today kick down that wall. Bring your spirit back to life again. Take a risk that it will work … or it won’t work. Your opportunity to walk on water may be right in front of you.
It’s up to you to do something different. Your life isn’t small, you’re just living it in a small way. Open up your life today. Take a step out of the boat. Take a risk. Let your heart race because there’s a chance of wild success or epic failure. This is your invitation.