Doing unfamiliar things takes a lot of courage. Change can feel exhilarating and daunting at the same time. How do we deal with the new, unexplored areas that we are called to?

During these past few months I’ve been constantly reminded about the time when Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. When he took his eyes off of Jesus, he sunk and the Lord had to help him out. Yet Peter was given a great calling: to feed and take care the Lord’s sheep.

Through his fears, doubts and betrayal, Peter was selected to shepherd the church. Jesus saw his journey, he saw that Peter would mature spiritually to become a leader before anyone else saw it.

In what areas of your life are you letting self-doubt hold you back instead of seeing yourself through the eyes of Jesus?

Isaiah 54:2 "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes."

Grow

In order for Peter to take on his new responsibility he had to grow. He had to grow in his trust of the Lord, let go of any doubts and fears that he might have had, and accept forgiveness for his sins instead of thinking of himself as not good enough. His focus had to shift to Jesus completely.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit working within him, he became bold to declare the name of Jesus among his fellow Jews. He lived a life of obedience to God, setting aside the fear of man that would limit him. (Read Acts 4)

Growth requires you to enlarge your faith capacity.

What do you have in your hand now that you need to look after and prove faithful with?

A Solid Foundation

Peter had to establish a solid foundation of his calling, before he could step into a new ministry that the Lord was going to give him. He had to be faithful in feeding and taking care of the church before he could expand it to include the gentiles. At the right time, God gave him a vision which led him to expand. (See Acts 10)

Peter’s call to include gentile believers into the church was new territory for him. He was born and raised as a Jew, who later became a Christian. He had to overcome a lot of limiting beliefs, hence the vision the Lord gave him.

What beliefs are you holding on to that are hindering you from stepping into a new season?

A Time to Delegate

Peter had to delegate some of his responsibilities to James in order to be able to have the capacity to do this new work the Lord was calling him to. A belief system that can greatly hinder progress is the belief that no one else can do the things that you can do or as good as you can do it. This robs you of time that you could’ve spend on what matters.

Prioritizing tasks and know when to delegate helps you to steward your time effectively.

Peter wasn’t called to stop one calling for the other. He still cared for the original church while also caring for the new congregation.

How can you unite the works you are called to do to compliment and support each other when you were called to do both of them?

Holy Spirit Empowerment

Guidance through the Holy Spirit is crucial. We need to pray constantly and live obedient lives in order to do the things the Lord has called us to do. This can be difficult at times. Sometimes you feel so out of your comfort zone that you want to revert back to the more familiar ways of doing things, yet you have been called to gain new territory; to set the sails, to spread your tent pens.

Beginning something new can be tough, but with the Lord to strengthen you and guide you, you can accomplish more than what you could ever think of.

Where have you been called to step out into a new territory?

I would love to hear about it.🌷

I hope looking a little bit into the life of Peter, that you will be encouraged to not be afraid of doing new things for the Lord. May you be bold and courageous and know that Jesus said that he will never leave you, that He will give you strength and that you are more than a conqueror through Him.

Blessings

Catherina