[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:09] Well, hey friends, welcome back to the weekday podcast. I'm so thrilled you're here. It's been a great year already and we love journeying with you every single weekday through this podcast. If we can ever pray for you, if we can support you in any way, drop us an
[email protected] and we'd be honored to serve you whether you're here, local, or somewhere else around the globe. Today, I want to think about this idea of grace moving first. GRACE Moving first, it says in John 21:1, after these things, Jesus showed himself to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. Then in verse 4, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. Now think about it. When was the last time you were waiting for someone to reach out to you? Maybe it was a friend who went quiet after a hard conversation, or a family member who said something that honestly stung. Or a co worker who let you down. And you've been waiting, maybe for weeks, maybe for months. And for them, you've been waiting for them to make the first move, to apologize, to reach out, to fix it. And honestly, the longer you wait, the more justified that silence feels. They messed up. They should be the ones to come around. I get it. But here's what I want you to see. Today in John 21, Peter is out in a boat. He's fishing. And this isn't a hobby. This is a retreat for him. Peter has publicly denied even knowing Jesus three times. And now Jesus is alive again. And Peter doesn't know. What do I do with that?
[00:01:29] So he goes back to his old life. He goes back to the familiar, back to a place where he doesn't have to face what happened. And what does Jesus do? He doesn't wait for Peter to come crawling back. He shows up on the shore. He closes the distance. And he makes the first move. From Genesis to the resurrection. This is what God does. He walked in the garden, calling, where are you? He sent prophets throughout the Old Testament. He became flesh. And the Gospels. Grace does not wait to be deserved. It arrives before we're ready. And that pattern, it's supposed to shape us. Here's what I want you to sit with today.
[00:02:03] There's probably someone in your life whose name you already know. That one who hurt you, the one who's been keeping at a careful distance. And maybe, just maybe, the reason that gap feels so hard to close is because you've been waiting for them to move first. But someone has to move first. And that someone can be you, not because they earned it, because Jesus did not wait for you to earn it either. So today, I want to give you one simple thing to try. Don't overthink it.
[00:02:30] Say their name out loud in prayer. That's it. Just bring them before God. You don't have to have it figured out. You don't have to be ready for the full conversation. Just let their name come out of your mouth before God and see what happens in your own heart. Grace moves first. And when you let it move through you, you're not just repairing a relationship. You're becoming more like the one who closed the greatest gap that ever existed. You do not move first because they earned it. You move first because that's what Jesus did. Give that a try today and let me know how it go. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.
