Have you ever been asked by God to do something out of your comfort zone? Have you ever thought that the Lord might want you to do something but didn’t have the courage? Maybe you don’t think that God still talks to people. Maybe you never think about it.
I believe that God still talks to us, He just uses different ways. I think He can use people, the Word, circumstances and an occasional whisper from the Holy Spirit. Consider this verse:
“The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Acts 8: 29
How do you think Philip heard the Holy Spirit? I don’t think it was audibly, but a gentle “nudge” that led him to strike up the conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch.
Read these verses from Mark 11:
1 … Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”
4 The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. 5 As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.
This is about as strange as Jesus telling Peter to take the first fish he catches, take the money from its mouth to pay the temple tax. (Matt. 17:27)
I wonder how the two disciples felt as they were walking up to the tied donkey with bystanders hanging out nearby. Do you think they were just a bit nervous or out of their comfort zone? Maybe after three years of seeing strange things and learning that every day was a new adventure with their fearless Leader they had no qualms about it. I don’t know.
What’s great about this is that I’ve learned that Jesus gave clear instructions and told them what to say in case they were confronted. When they did what they were told and said what they were told to say, they were successful.
Knowing that God never changes…
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13: 8
we can be certain that when He gives us something to do, He will most certainly tell us what to say when we are confronted and we will be successful as well, just as this passage reads.
I hope this message blesses your day. 🙂