Stepping Away From Security

This previous week I had the privilege of hearing from my pastor Craig Groeschel talk about 10 things he’s learned from 15 years of ministry at LifeChurch.tv.

The first thing on his list was this:

“To step toward your destiny, you must step away from security.”

I turned to my wife Erin and briefly smiled. She recently wrote a blog post about our journey from California (known, safe, and secure) to Oklahoma (huh?). Although our move across the country was difficult for us, we can now easily say that this is where God wants us. At a critical point in our lives, we stepped away from security and stepped into the craziest and most fulfilling ride of our lives.

I smiled and looked down towards my notes.  ”2”, I wrote, ready for the next point in Craig’s list.

Wait, that’s it? I’m done? Why is it that we sometimes think that once we’ve walked through a difficult decision in our life, we can simply check that “spiritual lesson” off our list?  

“Well, God taught us about stepping away from security. Glad we learned that one. What’s next?”  Do I honestly think that God brought us through the pain of leaving our families and friends just so we could add to our “lessons learned” trophy shelf?

Two things I’ve learned about God in this area:

1. Rarely will God push you far BEYOND your breaking point, however, 
2. God will frequently push you TO your breaking point.

God wants you on your knees. God wants you fully reliant on Him.  God did not have Erin and I go through that season of discomfort simply to tuck it away and become satisfied with previous spiritual successes. And I need to be ready for what’s next, because God isn’t done with me. God will require me to step out of my security more and more — this was just the first lesson.  This past season was so drastic only because it’s what God needed to do to shake me from my slumber.

But I’m awake now. I’m listening. And that’s exactly where He wants me to be … so I can learn and respond to what’s next … to whatever happens to be “Lesson 2.”