Monday, October 14, 2019

Is God Calling You to Step Out in Faith?


We all have a unique path to live and we are the only ones who can live it.  We need the Holy Spirit to speak to each of our hearts.  We need to learn how to hear God’s voice so we can discern His will for us.  We also need to make choices to step out in faith even when it’s hard or the results aren’t pleasant.  Knowing when and how to walk in faith is challenging.  Unfortunately, we can’t look for an absence of issues or a flurry of positive open doors to tell us, “Yes, this is the way.  Walk in it.”  Nor can we look at a string of negative events and assume it’s not God’s will.

How do we know when we’re supposed to step out in faith?

Sometimes, you can’t stop sensing God is telling you to do something.  But following through might mean doing something different than you think should happen.  It isn’t opposing God’s truth, but it doesn’t seem typical or logical either.  God doesn’t call us to obedience only when it is convenient and clear.  Sometimes God wants us to trust and obey Him no matter what.  So if God has clearly told you what He wants you to do, but He has not yet shown you how He wants you to do it, usually this means God wants you to step out in faith so He can show you what to do when the moment comes.

Several times in my ministry I’ve experienced this.  For example, I was 47 years old when God called me to go to college.  It was a difficult decision to make at that age.  We would have to move, and both of us would have to find work to pay for school and to support ourselves.  I had worked jobs before but Alice had never worked for anyone else.  She had always been self-employed.  We spent some time praying about it but the time came when we had to take a step of faith and trust God to provide for our needs.  I can say today that God did not let us down.  He provided jobs for both of us and we were able to prepay every semester.  He gave us an inexpensive rental house, and enough money left over to cover our other expenses.  And even though it had been many years since I last attended school He helped me pass all my courses. 

If God tells you to do something, He is not asking you to do it when it’s easy.  If you want to obey the Lord even during the hard times, you will have to learn to step out in faith with Him.  As Psalm 15:1-5b says, “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart; and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts… He who does these things will never be shaken.”

You can’t follow God like this without the Holy Spirit empowering you, but when God calls us He will always equip us.  We just have to take that first step of faith with Him.  Throughout the Bible we are told that the only person we are to fear is God Himself. (See Matthew 10:28; Proverbs 1:7)  This type of fear is not where we try to avoid God but rather where we respect His power and judgment so much that we are eager to obey Him, for as 1 John 4:17-18 says, “In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

If there is some earthly fear in our hearts, this is a clear sign that God is asking us to step out in faith with Him.  Joshua 1:9 reminds us, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” When you fear God you will not need to fear anything else.  And when you know the love of God all fear will vanish from you.

Eventually the time for planning must stop.  You can only strategize so much before actually doing something.  You can only have so many board meetings before a decision must be reached.  You can only attend so many counseling sessions before you must move forward in your life.  While we must never stop praying, eventually, even our prayers need to result in movement.

For example, in Joshua 7 Israel sins and is defeated in battle because God’s favor has left them. Then Joshua begins to plead with the Lord as he laid on his face.  But in verses 10b-13 God says to him, “...Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep . . . . Go, consecrate the people…”

Throughout your life there will come many times where you have done everything you can possibly do to prepare.  When you have done everything but move forward with God, this is often a sign He is asking you to take a step of faith with Him.  We might say we believe truths about God, but if we don’t act out of this belief it hasn’t penetrated our hearts.  Even so, we can choose to move in ways that are consistent with believing what we know to be true about God.
 
God calls us to step out in faith often and He will always equip us to do so.  Never forget how much God loves you.  He is always trustworthy and has your best interest at heart.

When you start letting go of fear and stepping out in faith with Christ, your life will never be the same.





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