As a faithful member of #TeamiPhone, I recently upgraded to iOS 10. One of the major changes is the ability to play games via iMessage, which is super fun. So, I was playing checkers with a friend of mine, and came to a crossroads. 

Sidenote: I’m highly competitive with these sorts of things. (I like to win.) 

I got to this point where I could either move my checker and get jumped or move a random, different piece that wouldn’t affect the game. Furthermore, getting jumped would require my opponent to move a piece from a same place and open a spot for a King. Should I play the safe route and move a random piece, or I sacrifice my piece to the opponent?

I got jumped. 

BUT in my next two moves, I was crowned King and ultimately won the game. 

Often times we are scared to take a leap of faith. We are holding on to what we feel is a lot, but in reality, it's a small portion. We’re holding on to what we think is all we have. We're scared of losing something. We're scared of taking a risk. We’re scared of taking that leap of faith. 

God will ask us to do things that are uncomfortable. He will ask us to do things that are countercultural. He will ask us to sacrifice in a way that we've never sacrificed before. But in those times, in that obedience, God is allowing our hands to be opened. As we have open hands, we are in position to receive.  

Maybe you can't see that in the next few moves, you’ll be King. Consider this, God gave Noah the job and specific instructions on how to build the ark. He told him his life’s purpose and only needed his willing obedience. However, God couldn’t give Noah the building plans without him having the tools or the materials. 

Sometimes God is looking for us to accept an opportunity or take a chance to move forward. He’s waiting on us to take that first step to apply to school, study for the test, buy the domain name, or sell a product. 

Following Christ is learning to take a risk and trusting God to handle the rest. 

God blesses obedience. Maybe he’s waiting on you to say “Yes.”

Let go of your one, measly checker piece to have an open hand to receive your MORE.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

Sign up to receive weekly encouragement via email!

Hugs!
Casey Sharperson
Speaker| Confidence Cultivator| Blogger
www.CaseySharperson.com

Be sure to follow me on Periscope (@CaseyCarea). I'll be scoping every weekday in November!