Taking that first courageous step toward something we want is often the most difficult. But if we ever want to achieve what it is we desire, it is necessary. Why is the first step so difficult though? What is it that so often hinders us so early on in our journey? The answer is simple, if not cliché: it’s fear of where the journey will take us.
There are no absolutes down any path we want to explore; no promises; no guarantees. But so it was with everyone who ever achieved anything great. What great person ever accomplished anything significant without first stepping into the unknown with nothing but their own faith and willingness to fail? Martin Luther King Jr. understood this when he said: “Faith is taking the first step even when you do not see the whole staircase.” If we feel compelled to accomplish something, the uncertainty of the path before us should not hinder us from walking the path, but inspire us to beat our feet along that road with passion, just as all great people before us have done.
The famous theologian William Shedd once wrote “a ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” God has given us gifts, talents, and passions. And He has a path for us that is designed to utilize the passions with which he has instilled in us. But if we never have the courage to undock ourselves from the harbor of comfort and certainty, how will we ever set sail on that great journey God has designed for us?
Are you standing ready to undock your ship, sitting safe in its harbor? What would it take for you to let go of your comforts and set sail on the new and unknown ocean God has put on your heart? For it is His will that you feel the inspiration to do so.
