Are You Willing to Jump out of your Comfort Zone? By Lisa Burkhardt Worley

In a couple of weeks I’m headed to New York City, one of my favorite cities in the world. It’s the place where it all turned around for me, my spiritual crossroad, where I gave God complete control of my life after a devastating job loss and going my own way for seventeen years.

And as I head back to the Big Apple, I’m (to borrow the old “Ghostbusters” line) “on a mission from God.”

It all started on my walk. I do a lot of reflecting while I walk and this day I was thinking about New York City. I had just run into an old friend who lives there and I began counting all the people I knew in the Manhattan area now.

There was also one of my closest friends, Deb, who moved there a few years ago…

…and my new actress friend, Jenn, who spoke at our last Level-Up Conference. I had connected with other Christians who were leaders in the arts through an organization I’m in called “Christian Women in Media.” All this and it had been over twenty-five years since I lived in that metroplex.

I knew more people in the industry now than when I was on television there in the early nineties! Then I heard, “It’s all in place now.” 

What’s all in place? 

I believe when we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, there’s something inside us that interprets exactly what He is saying, but we act stupid, because it’s often a message that takes us out of our box. I knew exactly what “it’s all in place” meant.

Everything was in place to do a Pearls of Promise Level-Up event in New York City. This would not be easy organizing this from over 1500 miles away so I told God, I need a confirmation. That’s my m.o., to request signs. I have never been like Abraham who dropped everything and left when God instructed him to go to an unknown land. I am definitely a Gideon-type—someone who requires multiple confirmations before moving forward. He was calling me to go to a known land but I still needed more data. 

That same day, I got my first sign. I was followed on Instagram by a ministry called “Crossroads NYC.” Of all names, and what timing! They don’t follow too many people. Why me? I did some research on this ministry and found out that they operate out of a big Baptist church in the heart of New York City, so I looked up the leadership of the church, and found out it’s led, in part, by Messianic Jews with a connection to the arts industry. God led this Jewish girl to this particular Christian church with Messianic Jewish leadership. I reached out to them and received a warm response and was able to line up a meeting there.

So, on faith, I am going to New York City to meet with my film and television friends, as well as leadership from this Manhattan church to cast the vision. Quite frankly, I am just along for the ride, and holding Jesus’ hand as we walk on the water together.

I have had some sinking spells. Maybe you’ve experienced this when you followed the Lord into new territory. But right when I needed it, He gave me a word of encouragement. I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Tim Ross about David and Goliath called “Spiritual Growth Spurt.” In that message, Ross said one of the reasons David was not intimidated by Goliath because he’d already killed lions and bears with his bare hands. What was Goliath compared to them? It was the same thing, just a different problem. When I heard that I thought, Pearls of Promise has staged fifteen conferences or retreats all over the state of Texas. We know how to do this. It’s just a different city.

David also knew that God had called him to defeat Goliath and would give him the victory. The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

So I am headed to New York and sharing this with you, our faithful Pearls of Promise followers, for prayer and for accountability. Perhaps you will remember this story as you watch how the Lord puts Level-Up New York City together because He is the one who should receive all the glory. I am hoping your faith will increase along with mine and that you will take risks when the LORD calls you to hold His hand and JUMP!

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).