Going Out On a Limb ~ An Advent Devotional - recycled again

Happy Advent morning...I originally wrote this in 2015, just after retiring. Then I reposted it in 2016.  Well, after reading it again this morning, I thought to myself, I must have written this to a future me in 2018, because I needed to be reminded of these truths again today.  

We are again at a kind of crossroads in this journey of our lives.  As most of you know, we are trying to sell our home and make a move to a little community about thirty miles north of our present location.  We believe, by faith, that this is how the Lord is leading us as we make these plans.  However, we have been a little discouraged as there has not been much interest in our house yet...and then last night I learned that the house we were "keeping our eye on" in the new community now has a pending sale on it. We were not able to tie it up in any way without a contract on our present home...so we have to watch that house go away to someone else.  I know that God is in control...and the first thought (after my initial shock and meltdown that the house was sold) was that He must have a much better house waiting for us when the time is right.  And so today I wake up with renewed vision and faith in the God Who will not forsake those who seek Him!  I can't wait to see what He has in store for us!

Perhaps this message below will be an encouragement for you today to be willing to "go out on a limb" with Jesus.  After all, "that's where the fruit is!"

Here is the original post from 2015 (and repeated in 2016):

Mark Twain was quoted as saying:

"Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."

I love what Sarah Young wrote in "Jesus Calling" for December 9th:  (I'm recycling this post from 2015 on that date...yes, I know today is really Dec. 13th...don't panic! )

"Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. (Jesus).  If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be.  Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief.  Your longing to live close to Me is at odds with your attempts to minimize risk.  

You are approaching a crossroads in your journey.  In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe.  

Let Me lead you step by step through this day.  

If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid.  Eventually, you will learn to relax and enjoy the adventure of our journey together. 

 As long as you stay close to Me, My sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go."  

I particularly like this verse that she references at the end: 

Psalm 9:10 

"And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; 

For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You."

Taking the step to retire (last year) was definitely one of these steps for me...going out on a limb...and certainly no longer playing it safe.  But I do know that the Lord is with me, and therefore I am daily learning to "relax and enjoy the adventure of our journey together".  Lord, help me to stay close to You so that Your Sovereign Presence will protect me wherever I go..  Amen.

Perhaps you may also be at a crossroads in your life today.  As we approach the end of another year, we are often faced with decisions about our future, and wonder what the New Year may hold in store for us.  I was reading in another place this morning about the seasons of our lives, and how sometimes it may feel like we are in an endless winter. We all have these "seasons" of difficult issues; financial problems, illness, career changes, or retirement, family/relationship concerns.  But when we place our trust in the One Who is able to guide us through these turbulent times...when we allow ourselves to let go of our own sense of security...the trunk of the tree...and step out on that limb and focus our eyes on Jesus, the Source of our true security and hope, we find that truly that IS where the fruit is...the fruit of peace, joy, and renewed strength.

Read what the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 40, verses 27-31~

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel;

'My way is hidden from the Lord, 

and my just claim is passed over by my God?'

Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The Everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak,

and to those who have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

and the young men shall utterly fall,

But those who wait on the Lord

shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint."

As we continue in this time of waiting the Advent of our Lord...not just for Christmas, but for His return for us, His chosen Bride...let us focus our eyes on Him who is able to renew our strength and ask that He give us the courage to stretch our faith as we step out on those proverbial limbs of life. He will be there to catch us should we start to fall...and He will lift us back up onto His wings and carry us on to reach that fruit He has promised us if we just put our trust in Him.  

What wonderful hope is this? Amen!!