For the longest time, I was Jonah. And I had plenty of reasons that seemed reasonable. When I first sensed the call to start writing these reflections on December 22, 2024, I immediately came up with a list of excuses. ‘Why not wait until my son resumes school? Maybe I should get my life in order first. Am I even qualified for this work? Or perhaps I could just start on the first day of the new year’; it seemed like a more symbolic and structured beginning. You know that New Year, New Me syndrome?
But then I was reminded; why postpone until tomorrow what you can do today? The Lord made it clear to me that a man’s true new year begins the moment he steps into obedience. That is when his life truly begins to count.
Time and time again, my husband encouraged me to step out, to move forward in doing God’s will. But I was terrified. I was afraid of being laughed at, of saying the wrong thing, of not being coherent enough to speak. You might find this hard to believe, but these thoughts battered me so much that I nearly became a stammerer. I would begin a well-thought-out conversation in my mind, only to end up saying, “I really don’t know how to explain what I mean” or “I don’t know how to express what I’m thinking.”
Oh, I was so fearful. It was as though the spirit of fear had taken full residence in me, built a mansion, and had no plans of leaving anytime soon.
At some point, I simply didn’t feel good enough. I didn’t feel like I prayed enough or studied my Bible enough to be qualified for God’s work. That was until I allowed this truth to settle in my heart: It is God who calls and then qualifies us for the task ahead, enabling us both to will and to do what pleases Him. But we must say yes first.
Even when I was finally ready and said yes, I lacked zeal. In fact, I asked, “Can God just use someone else?” I went as far as searching the internet for people already doing what He had sent me to do, convincing myself, “Why do I need to add to the number of people already doing God’s work this way? Aren’t there enough of them already?”
Once again, I was reminded that when God calls us to do His work, He is fully aware that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Everything we are doing has been done before, and long after we are gone, it will continue to be done. Yet, God still calls us because our obedience, our unique voice, and our faithfulness in each season matter to Him.
There are many believers who have answered God’s call and are faithfully serving Him. Yet, no matter how many laborers there are in God’s vineyard, there will always be many who still need to know Jesus Christ or believers who need to retrace their steps back to God and begin living lives worthy of their calling.
At some point, I became confused about how to go about it. I simply didn’t know where to begin. I wondered, What does it even mean to step out?
Stepping out means different things for different people:
- For some, it is writing what God puts on their heart.
- For others, it is preaching the Gospel at work, in the bus, or making Jesus known at every given opportunity.
- For some, it is quitting a nine-to-five job to embrace full-time ministry, while for others, it is leaving full-time ministry for the mission field or even to take up a job.
- For some, it is preaching to their students at every opportunity, starting a foundation, or stepping into leadership.
- For some, it’s simply to start up a prayer group or a Bible study group at home or in school.
It can mean so many different things, and all are uniquely valid as long as the end goal is that Jesus Christ be made known.
No matter what stepping out looks like for you, the most important thing is to obey. Delay is still disobedience. So, what is that assignment God has placed in your heart? What have you been postponing, analyzing, or trying to reason your way out of? Now is the time to say yes. Now is the time to take the first step. Today is the day to act.”
