“As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?”

Acts 8:36 (CSB)

In reading through the book of Acts, I love this moment where Philip has been led by the Spirit to leave his place of comfort and he ends up on a desert road with an opportunity to be a light. A eunuch, one devoted to service and who has modified their body to represent it, has an encounter with the Spirit through Philip. I recently stuck with his question, “what would keep me from being baptized?” Looking at the water, he asks a rhetorical question, because the truth is, he has nothing holding him back from changing his life for the better.

This moment has been encouraging to me, personally, because I’m in a season where it has been hard to follow my calling. The reality is, I may not be in a ministry position, but that does not lessen my calling. It doesn’t lessen yours either. What would keep me from living as a light? What would keep us from being a light to the world around us? Nothing, we are not limited to a standard or check boxes in order to live out who we are called to be.

Nothing can keep back you when you are empowered by a loving savior and no longer hindered from being an example of love to the world.

I was remembering back to when I was unbelievably busy in college. My first two years I was in classes full time, then would leave to be in my ministry internship, leading college ministries, small groups, and then working Fridays and Saturdays. I was very busy, and every event or group meant hanging out after and getting food. What I realized is that by only really being able to work ten hours a week, is that you don’t have disposable income. So, in order to pay for all the things that allowed for ministry and connection, I was selling parts of my comic book collections and video games in order to make it all work.

I was tired and really didn’t know how to say no, because everything felt so vital, and mostly it was. I was a very broke college kid, but didn’t want anything to hold me back.

I share that to remember that even as life has changed, and thankfully I don’t have to resort to selling comics and games, but that nothing can keep me from being a light to others.

I think about the people that I have been able to speak life into, some still remember and some it was just a seed of encouragement for someone else to water, but it mattered, it all matters.

Being present and being a voice of love matters in a world of busy noise.

There are days for many of us, where it can feel as if your stuck in a mundane cycle, like what you do made little to no difference. The truth is, what you do does make a difference, and anything or anyone that says otherwise is just simply not true. Even something as small as an encouraging word can make a huge impact on the life of someone else.

Think of the moment of Scripture where the eunuch has heard the truth and there is water right in front of him, there is nothing holding him back from taking that step. What would happen if you allowed yourself to take a simple step of a situation right in front of you? Not in an intrusive or obnoxious way, but a way where the Holy Spirit nudges you to be a light.

Take a deep breath, trust in the Spirit, and dive in.

Nothing bad will happen if you choose joy in a difficult situation. Nothing bad will happen if that person that you thought about gets a text of encouragement from you. Nothing bad will happen if you pray with that person in the middle of their battle. The God of the universe chose you to be a loving voice to His creation, let nothing hold you back.

This month I’ve referenced movies, but today I want to talk about when I got freaked out during the 2004 movie, “Van Helsing.” I was in middle school and watching with friends and it hit me a little too much. Looking at it now, it’s really not that insane, but I was started to be very scared. So, I just closed my eyes. Why not? I, in that moment just decided I didn’t have to be scared anymore. I just closed my eyes and changed my situation.

My message in that is not to just close your eyes to the world around you, that isn’t what we’ve been called to do.

What we are called to do, is be a light and change the atmosphere of every room you step into, pointing others to a loving Christ.

You don’t need to be scared anymore. You have nothing holding you back from being a light, from being a living example of a kind and loving Christ.

I think the question of, “what would keep you,” is an important one, because when you truly think about it, the reasons fade away when you remember there is a God who loves you and makes a way in the wilderness for you. Yes, your circumstances may be difficult and I don’t want to discount or belittle that, but I also know that God is always present and makes a way. That sometimes means through His people, which could be you. Maybe God wants you to help someone else through the wilderness? What would keep you from helping someone else? What would keep you from stepping into who God calls you to be?

I have been in this season of meditation and learning, where I keep coming back to this, that it isn’t about getting someone to go to church or an empty promise, but living out and being Christ to the people around you. Ownership of your faith is what Jesus is calling us into.

Step into your faith with ownership and be a light into a world that needs you, after all, what would keep you from changing the world around you when the Holy Spirit is in you?

-Your pastor and friend, Joshua.

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About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a husband, father, and pastor doing what he can to love others the way Jesus did. You can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. He may not have it all figured out, but the journey is the best part. You can find him on the only social media he uses, Bluesky and Instagram