No Turning Back (Bot9 #243)
As you’ve taken your first steps out of your comfort zone and overcome the hesitation to move forward, you reach the third stage of the journey - no turning back.
In my opinion, this may actually be a more frightening stage than even the climactic obstacle to conquer, which comes much later. It’s here where everything’s different. The rules have changed. You aren’t sure who is in power and where you fit. You’re not in Kansas anymore.
For Roy Hobbs in The Natural, the New York Knights represent this whole new world and no turning back moment. Why can’t he get in the lineup? Who are the owners up in the private luxury box int he sky? Why is this team stuck in a wasteland without success? This isn’t the joy and glamour he was hoping to experience by reaching the highest level of the game. But it doesn’t matter, there’s no turning back. He’s in the journey and must continue to forge forward.
Take this to the New Testament and imagine the disciples who have chosen to follow Jesus. They’ve seen and heard him do some amazing things - turn water into wine, healings, and a new levels of grace. But you’ve also seen him raise the ire of the establishment. People want to kill him. Is Jesus truly the Son of God who will overcome the power of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees? The disciples are along for the ride. They don’t have any power in the situation, but there’s no turning back.
Peter’s response to Jesus in John 6:66-69 may capture this the best. The scene goes like this:
“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
When we reach the point of no turning back, it’s vital that we live our lives inside out. Our relationship with God is central to our being - He is the unchanging rock and we trust no one before Him. When we are struck with fear in this no turning back moment, we lean back into the Lord and trust that He does indeed have the words of eternal life.