Taking a Full Stride into Your Callings

by Michelle Gill
www.rebornjoy.com

Luke 1:38,39 "And Mary said, 'Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her. Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharius and greeted Elizabeth."

While I have had some trouble with my Achilles tendon, I was now having issues with my back muscles. I went to an experienced massage therapist who to me that to avoid pain in my Achilles tendon, I had stopped taking full strides. This practice had affected my entire muscular structure including my back. He told me to start fully committing to my steps and following each stride all the way through.

Immediately, I thought how my life is reflected in my physical body. When I thought of all the things I was certain God had called me to do, I realized I stepped into them without fully committing. For example, when He told me to run, I jogged for a while. When He told me to write, I took another class. When He told me to give, I did only to the extent it was comfortable for me. When He told me to go to a certain church, I quickly left after the last “Amen.” When He told me to pray for someone, I did until the passion waned.

I have been thinking about the power of belief. Luke 1 presents the difference between Zacharius choosing not to believe Gabriel right away and Mary fully committing the moment he spoke to her. Zacharius lost his physical ability to speak due to his lack of belief. In contrast, Mary was called “blessed” by Elizabeth because of her belief.

God is speaking all the time, but do I believe what He is saying? And if I did, what difference would that make? So as I practice stepping fully through my stride, I also practice believing Him and giving more focus and intention to his guidance. For example, do I need to help my daughter read an extra ten minutes instead of letting her read to me as I do the dishes? Do I need to make an appointment to write each week instead of waiting for the urge to strike?

What are some of the simple and not so simple things that He is speaking to you about that you could give more intention to, and fully believe Him in? What difference would it make if you did so? Whose life would it change? How much more of His power would we see, if we just believed Him?

God not only honors our belief, He delights in it. I had no idea how stopping short in my stride affected my entire body, not just the tendon I was trying to protect. I daresay that taking a full stride versus stopping short will make more difference than we could possibly imagine. But we won’t find out until we actually follow through.