The Next Faithful Step

 In Matthew’s Gospel, the first disciples leave their nets, their boats, and their families to follow Jesus—immediately. What gives someone the courage to step away from what’s familiar into the unknown? In this episode of Faith in the Cracks, we explore what it means to recognize God’s call, to trust when we can’t see the whole picture, and to take the next faithful step when clarity is still unfolding. 

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Welcome to season four of Faith in the Cracks. I'm Pastor Karen Wright. Life has cracks, moments between activities, places where we feel fractured. This is the space where we listen for God in the ordinary moments of life, where we are reminded that just as cracks let things in, it's a space for light and love to shine through. So just like plants grow in the cracks of a sidewalk, let faith grow in the cracks of our lives, trusting that God is at work within us. Episode three, the next faithful step. In the lectionary years, the end of January is often the call of the disciples. And this year we're in Matthew, and Matthew sees Simon, Peter, and Andrew casting their nets. And a little further down sees James and John are mending their nets with their father. He has said, I will make you fish for people make you fishers of people. But it's those two words when Jesus says, Follow me, and they immediately leave their nets, their livelihood, their families, and follow. We don't get any long conversation or questions that they asked about what it meant to follow Jesus. They just left. Now, perhaps because we know John the Baptist has been preaching and Jesus was baptized by John, that Jesus has been in the area. I'm sure they have heard him, they have listened to him. It's more than likely that they had been working for the Roman Empire and the best of their catch actually went to Rome. And so it very well may be that these guys were tired of feeding the empire. And they were feeling stuck. Like they could fish, and yes, they could make a livelihood, but that they wanted more, that they want to change. And maybe they've been hearing John and Jesus, and that when Jesus says, follow me, that was the impetus they needed. Because it makes me think about discernment and when do you know it's time? And I think through my own journey, and there's moments when it's like it feels like it's time to move on, that things don't have the same zeal, that it feels stale. And so faith sometimes begins with that recognition that there's a tug, there's a question, there's a sense that there's something else out there. And so, how do we trust when we can't see the whole thing? Because I would bet that James and John and Simon Peter and Andrew that none of them knew what following Jesus would lead them to. The crowds, the conflict, the cross. They just knew they were called to follow. And so I wonder if sometimes for us we need to have too much of a plan. We need to know that first we're going to do X, and then we're going to do Y, and then we're going to do Z. And that sometimes we step out in faith, only knowing the next faithful step. Not knowing the whole road, but being able to trust that God has been down the road and knows the road in front of us, even when we don't. And so leaving the nets, they're leaving something familiar, something that they know for that which they don't. And so maybe in your life there's something that you've outgrown, a role that you've outgrown, or something that you have chosen to do that you're wanting a change. Maybe there's a version of yourself that you need to let go of. Or maybe there's one you need to embrace. You say follow me, but like where are we going? They just take the sense of what is the next faithful step, and that was to follow. And so I wonder, as you stand at the edge wondering whether it's time to do something new, if you're discerning that the question has been there and it's time to answer it, can you trust that God sees that that you cannot? That God's been there before. And maybe it's time to answer a question or follow that urge and take the next faithful step. Until next time. Thanks for listening. New podcasts are released every Monday. If you like the show, share it with a friend, or scroll to the bottom of the episode description and support the show for the cost of a cup of coffee once a month. You can also check out my webpage at faithinthecracks.com. As you go through your week, remember you are a child of God and you are loved. May God seep into the cracks and bring forth new life.