Following on Dry Land
Six years ago I wrote this devotion as encouragement to follow Jesus closely, especially in times of “nothing special.”
My life is full of nice little things right now [in October 2019]. I have meaningful employment working with people I enjoy. This summer we finished all the major projects on our renovation of the house we bought at a sheriff’s auction, so now I have a little more time to relax. I have a little pontoon boat that’s just right for spending a little time with my beautiful wife on sunset cruises on our little lake. We have two adorable little dogs, I have all the food I need, and most of my clothes are comfortable. Aside from the glaring emergency every now and then, my world is largely made up of nice little things.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? And it is. But sometimes I get the urge for the next “big thing.” Don’t get me wrong: I can, and do, enjoy a nice routine, but I’ve never been one to simply keep going through the motions. Most of my life has been spent asking God, “What’s next?” Often there have been huge milestones, such as buying and remodeling a house (we’ve done three), having and raising children (we’ve raised four), or progressing in my career and calling (there’ve been six different tracks [–now eight!]). Until I came to the seminary in 2012, the longest I’d ever worked in the same position was five and a half years. Luckily for me the first four years here involved a lot of change and innovation!
But still, life is good. It’s full of nice little things. And God is using those little things to shape me in ways that are sometimes hard for me. Oswald Chamber’s makes a strange claim: “We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride … can face the strain magnificently.”* The real challenge, he says, is that we must depend totally upon the grace of God for the 24/7 moment-by-moment “drudgery” of being a disciple.
I’m certain Chambers is not suggesting that following Jesus is boring, but daily life can be full of “ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus.” Drawing on the character of Peter, Chambers says that, “Walking on the water is easy to impulsive pluck, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus is another thing altogether.” It was easy for Peter, in the heat of the moment, to follow Christ onto the sea. But on dry land, he “followed him from a distance” (Mk 14:54).
As I ponder the many little moments that make up my days, I wonder how closely I’m following Jesus “on dry land,” or do I follow him from a distance throughout the “drudge” of the day-to-day? I am encouraged that in every moment of every day, our Lord invites us to “come unto Me.”
Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
*My Utmost for His Highest, October 21.