We were made for adventure. But, as believers, fear can keep us bound in a predictable life of limitations and insecurities. But Papa God’s love casts out our orphan fear and He takes us places and doing things we’ve only dreamed of before.
I’ve included a video clip here because it made me think of this picture Mark Hendrickson posted on his blog here. You should check out what he has to say there.
But I’m not talking about becoming some adrenaline junkie here, bungee jumping off bridges, cliff diving and kayaking down dangerous rapids. I’m talking about the exhilarating adventures of faith, riding on the waves with Papa God.
As I said here, God is calling us out of our comfort zone of fear and doubt onto the great big waves of grace in the life of faith He designed for us. I love how the Message Bible paraphrases Paul’s appeal to the earthbound Corinthians…
“Dear, dear Corinthians,
I can’t tell you how much I long for you
to enter this wide-open, spacious life.
We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you.
Your lives aren’t small,
but you’re living them in a small way.
I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives.
Live openly and expansively!” (2 Cor.6:11-13 MSG)
Jesus told us to have child-like faith. And children don’t dream of leading average mundane lives when they grow up! Like the child on the video…
“Hey, Papa…
When I grow up I’ll surf BIG waves..”
Beloved, I appeal to you now. The smallness you may be feeling is between your ears. God has called you to a wide open and spacious life! Ride the BIG waves. Live openly and expansively in your Father’s embrace.
Your heavenly Father loves you so much and is always waiting with His BIG open arms. You don’t have to hide from Him in fear anymore, all bound up in shame and guilt. Like with the Prodigal son, he will have none of our groveling probation speeches! He embraces us and raises us up as His son/daughter of the Most High God!
You are royalty. You are holy and righteous. You are perfect in His sight.
How so?
Because of Christ!
Not because of your behavior but because of His!
So why not get off that fruitless, life-sucking treadmill of sin-management and enter into His life full of joy, peace and love. For the God of Heaven has placed His royal robe on you, His signet ring on your finger and heavenly sandals on your feet (Luke 15:22).
Stand up and learn how to ride the great big waves of grace in your Father’s embrace. He won’t let you go or let you drown. And He will show you how to surf over every circumstance and do the great exploits and live the life of heavenly adventure you were called to live as His fully affirmed son/daughter.
Don’t live another moment in a small way. You’ve been called to greatness in your Father’s kingdom. As the song on the video says, “feel it in your bones…” It’s time to put your super-hero cape back on and fly. The Creator of the Universe is living IN you, and He’s the hope of glory.
I hope you enjoy this short video clip.
Remember, YOU are the child in this story…
And your heavenly Papa says, “Surf’s up!”
Video edited from “Surf Is Life 2″ FREE FILM by Fred Compagnon” at XTreme Video
In My Father's House 
Loved this, Mel! And needed this today. I love the picture too! What a great way to remind us that Papa God is with us on the waves, holding us up with His strength.
Thanks. And amen! He’s got a hold us the whole way. We might as well enjoy the ride. 🙂 Blessings.
Reblogged this on In The Potter's Hands and commented:
If you need a reminder that God has called you out into the BIG waves, here is some encouragement! The picture and video express a great illustration of our Papa God who is with us in the waves, teaching us how to ride the big ones.
Anyone who is willing to take the next step, and do it in faith is always ready (or should be) for a Great and wild ride! God didn’t promise us everything would be perfect, as we see it, but His promises are so much greater than our imaginations could ever be! When you’ve lived five decades “practicing” serving Him, mistakes and all, you only have to look behind you to see what a wild ride that life of “practicing” truly was!
If you aren’t excited or passionate about how and where our Heavenly Father has taken you in your life, no matter your age, then maybe you need to take some still time and look inward to the same heart our Lord looks at!
Real adventures aren’t without some sort of excitement, things that are unexpected, yet on an adventure, you cope with the unexpected and keep plugging along. Usually when you’re done, you think back to that vacation or time in your life and think about how great it was. You usually don’t spend time on the hardships but on the outcome! So it is WALKING with Christ Jesus as led by His Holy Spirit. Why fear? He’s already been there and knows what comes next! If you truly trust in Him, then you are ASSURED, not afraid! And, moving forward, not always knowing what is next is what faith AND adventure is truly about!!
Great message Pastor Mel, and I loved the video! What a great analogy and example of the attitude, the child-like attitude we are all to strive for!!
God bless for another great and thought provoking article!!
Thanks for the great insights here, Pastor Roland. What you said, “…but His promises are so much greater than our imaginations could ever be!” Amen! That’s what Paul tries to tell us in Eph.3:20…more than we can ask or imagine. Yes, adventures are often uncomfortable, even scary at the time, but they are the things that make us feel truly alive. The more we trust Him, the more stunning this life He’s offered us becomes. And hang on, it only gets better! Blessings.
Reblogged this on FOR THE LOVE OF GOD and commented:
Here’s another great and thought-provoking message from Pastor Mel and don’t pass up the video, you’ll be blessed!!
Whoo-hoo! Love that photo! It’s absolutely joyful. BTW, “So get off that fruitless, life-sucking treadmill of sin-management and enter into His life full of joy, peace and love.” Tell us how you really feel! Love this, Mel! 😀
Haha…how I really feel about getting off the fruitless, life-sucking treadmill of sin-management? Quite wonderful, actually… 🙂 Blessings.
Man! That was a great post. Especially with the video. Let’s think BIG because our Father is BIG. If many christians would to surf that thought the devil wouldn’t know what to do anymore. It would put him out of business. Good stuff!
I was going to write “Wahooo!” and saw Susan had got there first … ahhhh whatever.
WAHOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Thank you! 🙂
There are never enough Wahooo!’s when talking about our amazing life of adventure in God! So your additional enthusiasm is much appreciated. Blessings.
Awesome post!!
Thank you. Much appreciated. Blessings.