Disturb us, Lord

Any good thing that we do is from God. It is only His power at work within us that enables people to make a difference. Jesus states this in John 15:5. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” The fruit of following Jesus is a new heart with a new mind, new desires, a new will, a new way of relating to people around you, and a new purpose.

God causes us to grow not for a self-centered purpose but so that we can better serve others. Remember that God loves you and longs to help you. In response to God’s love we can make the right decisions so that we are able to show His love to others. Christian author C.S. Lewis stated, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” All of us are capable of meditating on God’s Word and then taking action based on how we feel God is leading us. God’s Word is powerful and will change us for the better.

We can pray to God for wisdom and boldness to not seek comfort but to seek His will in our lives. Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain who lived in the sixteenth century. He definitely had a growth mindset that was driven by his faith in God. One of his prayers was for God to continue pushing Christians for how we can be used to accomplish His will.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
 
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
 
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes; and to push back the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.
 
This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ. Amen!
 
 If we stay focused on God’s Word, God will cause us to grow. We do not need to fear new experiences or the unknown because God is with us. We can pray to God to remove our complacency and boldly follow where he guides us.