Am I following the Spirit’s lead?
Recently everyone in our house has been poorly. Matt first, then Zoe then finally Rachel came down with whatever it was. It was not a good 2 weeks! One of the few things that Zoe has wanted to do is watch Moana (a Disney film). By the time Zoe and Rachel were ill, Matt was back to work and so Rachel has sat and watched Moana so many times over the last two weeks she can recite large sections of it and knows every word to the songs.
In the film, Moana is the daughter of the village chief. She lives on a beautiful island and has been told that no one goes beyond the reef. It isn’t safe. There are only stormy seas and rough waves out there. The island keeps us safe. The message that keeps being repeated is that everything she needs is, “Right where you are”. Yet something keeps calling her back to the water to see what is out there beyond the horizon.
Without ruining too much of the plot, Moana learns that her ancestors were voyagers, regularly exploring the ocean using the stars to navigate their way back home when they needed. Something happened which meant that boats stopped coming back (We won’t tell you what because that will ruin the film, and you really should watch it). The islanders of today had allowed the fear of the unknown to stop them from voyaging. They had been playing it safe for too long, sticking with the familiar and the comfort of life as they had come to know it. But they were missing out on so much!
Does that sound familiar at all? Perhaps you, like us, are far too comfortable with the familiar. We have condensed God into a nice neat little box that is cosy and safe. Is that really the life of discipleship that God is calling us to? Maybe he is calling us to adventure. To grab that next opportunity and go exploring with him! As Moana says, “We were voyagers! We can voyage again!”
Do you sense something within you telling you that there is more to life than what you currently know? Maybe the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, and therefore of adventure, is calling you to get off your island and go. Do something new with him! Are you scared? Fair enough. Us too! But will you do it anyway?
We have stepped out into the unknown and are living by faith co-directing the Inspire Movement in GB. Click here to read more about our adventures with God on our family blog.
Matt and Rachel Wright, Inspire Missioners, England
