Eyes Up: When You Step Out and Then Look Down

Before the rescue. Before the breakthrough. Before the moment she realized that sinking was not the same as failing.

There was just a woman standing at the edge of everything she had ever been called to do.

And she jumped anyway.

Her name was Priya Gates. And she was about to learn the difference between starting in faith and finishing in it.

The Woman Who Said Yes

Priya had heard the voice clearly.

Not audibly. Not dramatically.

The way God speaks to people who have been spending enough time with Him to know the difference between their own ambition and His assignment.

Start the ministry. Now. Not when you feel ready. Now.

She had been sitting on the calling for two years.

Waiting for the right time. Waiting for enough money. Waiting for enough confidence. Waiting for someone to give her permission she already had.

And then one Sunday morning something shifted in her spirit so completely that waiting stopped being an option.

She went home. She built the website. She recorded the first video. She hit publish before she could talk herself out of it.

Her hands were shaking the entire time.

But she stepped out.

The Eleven Who Stayed

Her friends watched from a safe distance.

Not unkindly. Just carefully.

"Are you sure this is the right time?" "Have you thought about what happens if it doesn't work?" "Maybe wait until you have more resources." "What if nobody shows up?"

They were not bad people. They were just still in the boat.

And Priya understood.

She had been in the boat with them for two years.

But something on the other side of the fear was calling her name. And she had finally decided that whatever was waiting out there was worth the risk of getting wet.

The First Steps

The early momentum was undeniable.

The response was immediate. The community began to grow. The content resonated in ways she had not expected. Doors began opening that she had not knocked on.

She was walking on water.

Not because everything was perfect. Not because the conditions were ideal. Not because the fear was gone.

Because her eyes were locked on the assignment and the One who had given it.

Faith is not the absence of fear. It is the decision to move anyway.

The Storm That Hit Mid-Step

And then the storm arrived.

Not before she stepped out. After.

That is always when the storm comes. Not to stop you from starting. To test whether you will finish.

The criticism came first. Anonymous comments that picked apart everything she was building. Voices that questioned her qualifications her background her right to speak.

Then the numbers dropped. The momentum slowed. The doors that had been opening went quiet.

Then the finances hit. The equipment broke. The collaborations fell through. The launch she had been building toward underperformed in every measurable way.

And then the comparison crept in.

She started looking at everyone else who had stepped out. Everyone who seemed to be walking further. Walking faster. Walking without sinking.

And the moment her eyes shifted from the assignment to the storm everything changed.

The weight of what she was actually doing landed on her all at once.

Who do you think you are. You are not qualified for this. Nobody is listening. You should have stayed in the boat.

And Priya Gates began to sink.

The Shortest Prayer

She did not pray eloquently. She did not compose herself first. She did not clean up her theology before she cried out.

She was drowning and she knew it.

Three words came out of her at two in the morning face down on her bedroom floor.

Lord save me.

That was it. That was the whole prayer.

And it was enough.

The Hand That Came Immediately

Not the next day. Not after she had pulled herself together. Not after she had figured out a better strategy or rebuilt her confidence or explained herself to the critics.

Immediately.

The peace that came into that room at two in the morning was not circumstantial. The circumstances had not changed. The numbers were still low. The criticism was still there. The finances were still tight.

But something steadied inside her that the storm could not reach.

And in the stillness she heard the question she needed to sit with.

Why did you look down?

Not a condemnation. A diagnosis.

You were walking. Something pulled your eyes off the assignment and onto the opposition. And the moment you focused on the storm more than the Savior you started sinking.

Look back up.

Back on Solid Ground

Priya did not become fearless overnight.

But she made one decision that changed everything.

Every morning before she opened her analytics, her comments, her emails, or her bank account she spent thirty minutes with God first.

Eyes up before anything else.

And slowly what the storm had tried to destroy began to rebuild.

Not the same as before. Better. Rooted deeper. Built on something the criticism could not shake because she had already been shaken and had not quit.

The eleven who stayed in the boat were still there. Still safe. Still comfortable.

But Priya had a story none of them could tell.

She had stepped out. She had started to sink. She had prayed the shortest prayer in scripture. And the hand had caught her before she finished saying it.

The Lesson

The storm does not come to stop you from starting. It comes to test whether you will finish.

And it almost always arrives after the first few steps of obedience. Not before. After.

Because the enemy is not threatened by your intentions. He is threatened by your follow through.

You will not walk perfectly in faith. You will look down sometimes. The opposition will feel louder than the assignment sometimes. The numbers will drop. The criticism will come. The finances will not make sense. And you will begin to sink.

But the hand that catches you is faster than the sinking.

And the prayer that works when you are drowning is the same prayer that works on solid ground.

Lord save me.

Say it. He is already reaching.

And then look back up. Eyes up. Finish what He called you to start.

Scripture to Stand On

"Lord if it is You command me to come to You on the water. He said come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus." — Matthew 14:28-29

"Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him saying to him O you of little faith why did you doubt." — Matthew 14:31

Reflection

What storm hit after you stepped out in faith?

What pulled your eyes off the assignment and onto the opposition?

And are you willing to pray the shortest prayer in scripture and trust that the hand is already reaching before you finish saying it?

Friend the invitation is still open. The assignment has not been cancelled. The hand is still reaching.

Look back up.

Priya stepped out while eleven people stayed safe. The storm came after she started not before. That is always how it works. If you are sinking right now say the three words. He is already reaching.

If you are ready to quiet your heart and focus on God again, join the 7 Day Praise Challenge. It will help you turn your attention away from the noise and back toward the presence of God one day at a time.

➡️ Download the Free 7 Day Praise Challenge Here

Ready to go deeper into your faith journey? Explore the full book collection from S.A. Briddell written for the woman who wants more than surface faith.

➡️ Shop S.A. Briddell Books on Payhip

➡️ Also available on Amazon

▶️ Join us every Sunday for Teaching, Tuesday for Prayer, and Friday for Bible Study on the Kingdom Family Lifestyle YouTube channel.

Redeemed by Grace. Rooted in Faith. 

Living on Purpose. Stay rooted. Stay renewed. 

You are trusted by God.

 — S. A. Briddell