Daily Devotional

Just An Inch Away

By Tanya S. Martin-James
This week's topic: Sharing Your Faith

The other day my one year old climbed onto the giant ottoman in our front room. He sat on top for a while watching his sister practice her ballet. When he got tired of that he tried to get down on his own. He lay on his stomach and began to scoot off the ottoman.

At some point he thought he had gone as far as he could and was upset that his feet weren't touching the floor. He began clutching the furniture as tightly as his little fingers could and screamed out for help. When I looked over at him I noticed his feet were only an inch or two from the floor -- one more push and he would be down on his own.

Kyle was upset because he was no longer within the boundaries of his comfort zone. But instead of rushing over to "rescue" him, I began to try and encourage him to finish the task by himself.

"Kyle, you're almost there -- you can do it."
"Don't be afraid, keep going."
"You got it big boy, you can get down"

However Kyle didn't have the faith needed to continue his journey. At least he didn't know he had it. However, I knew he was already equipped for this assignment. So I just continued to encourage him from a short distance.

He eventually grew tired of just "hanging there" and pushed a little further. When his toes felt the floor, he instantly stopped crying and a huge smile formed across his face.

Five seconds later, it became a new game to him. He just kept climbing on and off, on and off in sheer delight.... laughing the entire time. He had defeated this Goliath in his life -- no longer was fear a factor.

Many of us are in the exact same place. We've gone as far as we think we can, holding on for dear life, waiting for God to “rescue” us.

Yet we feel like He has left us to fail or die in our current situation. But in actuality God is rooting for us on the sidelines because He has already given us the tools to finish. We just have to activate our faith and continue to push. The end is just a few inches away ... don't give up now!

Scripture Of The Day: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.” - Psalms 27:1 (KJV)

Tanya Martin James is the author of From Promiscuity to Proverbs 31: Getting Off the Fence of Sexual Immorality and Coffee Moments: A Work in Progress http://www.armedanddangerous.biz She also blogs at http://www.mycoffeemoments.com

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