Recently, I was sweeping the kitchen the other day after eating dinner with my housemates.  One of my hosuemates was still at the table finishing up her food.  As I made a pile, I realized I did not have the dustpan.  In fact, it seemed to have disappeared.  “Georgia, do you know where the dust pan is?”  She said she didn’t and I continued my search.  After a long while, I found it hiding behind some boxes in the living room.  I then used it to sweep up my pile and throw it away.  “Oh, you found it!  Where was it?”  Georgia asked.

“It was behind those boxes!”  I said.

“Oh, so it was hiding.”

“Yes, I guess it was hiding because it didn’t want to be used.”

There was a pause, and, suddenly, Georgia just announced, “That can preach!”

And then boom, the Lord gave me a revelation… out of a broom and a dustpan.

There are so many times where we hide behind some boxes in life, when God is calling us to step out and allow ourselves to be used in the Kingdom.  We don’t like the inconvenience of it, or rather, we are scared.

It reminds me of the story of Jonah, where he knew he needed to go to Ninevah but he was scared.  What Jonah didn’t know that the opportunity to go to Ninevah would ultimately turn the King of Ninevah to repentance and so much more.

You might say, “Bella, I am not scared to do anything, so I don’t feel this message is for me.”  That is totally fine.  I just challenge you to analyze the thing in front of you.  Because I found the mountain of fear was still in front of me, but it was in disquise.  It can be disquised as, “I don’t feel led to take that opportunity right now because I feel that I am in a season of hiding with the Lord.” or “I don’t feel called to say ‘yes’ to that position because I am in a season of humbling myelf.”

Does this sound familiar?  If not, that is totally fine.  I just want to challneg you to analyze the real reason why you turned that opportunity down to go on that outreach to another city, why you aren’t taking that specific class (RSM related because this was me), why you said no to the opportunity to preach that one night, or why you aren’t putting your ideas to practice.

As long as we are behind the boxes, or that mountain of fear, and in our own comfort, we can’t see the glimpse of what He has for us because the mountain is in the way.  When you push the mountain of fear out of the way, that is when we can see clearly.  That is when we can see the glimpse of our purpose.

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord… -Jonah 1-3 (NKJV)

Ask yourself, “Is what I am doing actually hiding from the presence of the Lord?” Sometimes the Lord asks us to do things that cause us to get out of our comfort zone, because He wants to teach us something.  By being obedient and doing what we know He wants us to do, it will bring us a step closer into our purpose.  We can’t hide in our comfort anymore and tell ourselves, “It just isn’t really what I am called to do.”  If He is asking you to do something, it is because He wants you to learn something and be launched a step closer to your calling and purpose.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hide anymore.  I don’t want to hide behind this mountain of fear and disguise it as something else.  I don’t want to be a Jonah anymore, but I want to be a Jonah who will be obedient the first time and stop hiding.

I pray this blesses you and challenges you.  Thank you for reading!  If you would like to get in touch, my email is isabellashoemake77@gmail.  Family, I want to see all of us go from glory to glory.