A few years ago, my husband and I took a huge leap of faith. We took our three children, and moved to a place that we had never been to before. We left everything familiar behind—our family, friends, and careers—because we believed that God had called us to leave and go to this new place. We did all of this without the assurance that everything would work out…and it was the most nerve wrecking thing that we have ever done. I can remember how I felt…honestly, I was afraid. I had so many questions. I was unsure if we were doing the right thing. Did God really speak to us? Were we supposed to move? Was this the city that we were supposed to move to? There was nothing set in stone for us to hold on to. We had no proof that this was the door that God wanted us to walk through. But I remember the determination that we walked in during that season. Our family had been through so much; God had done a great work. And so, we came to the conclusion that we would no longer live for ourselves. We vowed that we would seek the will of God for our lives…it didn’t matter what we needed to give up; It didn’t matter what He asked us to do. We were determined to follow Him.
The weeks leading up to our move, and even after we left, we had so many thoughts running through our minds. Most of them centered around whether or not we were making the right decision. How did we know that this was the will of God? How did we know that we heard His voice? What if we were making a mistake? And the truth of the matter is, that there was no real assurance that we were doing the right thing. All we had was our faith.
Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. For by this [kind of] faith the men of old gained [divine] approval. (Hebrews 11:1-2 AMP)
According to the book of Hebrews, faith, is all the assurance that we need. Our faith is our confirmation that God is leading us, and working for us. I love this version of this scripture, because it highlights that “faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.” This means that faith fills in the gap between what we know (fact) and what we don’t know. So, when we are in a situation where we aren’t sure, it is the perfect opportunity to use our faith.
We fill in the gap with faith.
We will never really know what the will of God is. But, if we are seeking His will, He will always lead us down the path that He has for us. This, is where my husband and I gained our confidence from. We had faith that because we were seeking God, He would ultimately ensure that we’d end up in the right place.
As we fill in the gap with faith, God works to fill in the gap with grace.
God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. (Psalms 18:30-36 NLT)
This is how the grace of God works in our lives. We don’t have to be perfect, and we don’t have to get it right all the time. As we trust God, He makes our way perfect. This means that He makes our decision the perfect decision. He makes our mistakes the thing that we need to get to the place that He calls us to go. This is the wide path that He gives us. The grace of God is our safety net.
God’s grace ensures that everything that we do works to further His plan in our lives.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)
In that season, and still, this is the hope that my husband and I grabbed on to. Our God is powerful enough to cause everything to work together for our good. And we knew that if we remained committed to following Him, He would continue to give us grace for our journey.
Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3 NLT)
This is just one more scripture that shows us how the grace of God works in our lives. When we walk in the genuine belief that we are obeying God, and when we are committed to do what we believe He wants us to do, He fills in the gap. Remember, this is faith. Faith is not walking in certainty. Faith is trusting God with the uncertainty. Faith is taking a step, on the belief that God spoke. When we do this, when we take a leap of faith, in an effort to walk in the will of God, He will always send His grace ahead of us. I just want to take a moment and reiterate this. Because uncertainty is probably the number one reason that many of us won’t take a leap of faith. It’s hard to trust in something that we can’t prove. It’s hard to take a step when we don’t know the whole plan. But, when we put all our hope in God, when we put all our trust in Him, He always comes through. He will never leave us high and dry. He will do whatever He needs to do to provide for His children. But it’s more than that. When we are in this space with God, when we are in a place where we must depend on Him, we have the opportunity to see His miracles at work in our lives. Just think of all the miracles that you’ve heard about in the bible. They didn’t happen in situations where the people had options. The miracles in the bible occurred in the lives of those that put all their hope in God, and many of them occurred in circumstances where the people trusted in God, and were stuck between a rock and a hard place because of it.
When we are between a rock and a hard place because of our obedience to God, He always shows up.
Just think about the time that God parted the Red sea in Exodus 14. The Israelites were all out of options, and they had no where else to turn. But also, they were in that situation because of their obedience and trust in God. This is the type of faith that invites God to show up, and He worked a miracle before their eyes that day.
In Matthew 14, we see the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Scripture says that the crowd was seeking Jesus; all they wanted was to follow Him…to be where He was. And although it was late in the evening, and they didn’t have any food to eat, they continued to seek Him. And what did Jesus do? Did He send them away to find food as the disciples suggested? No. He worked a miracle before their eyes. He multiplied the five loaves and two fish, so that they had more than enough. He provided for His children, because that is what He does when we put Him first.
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT)
When we put God first, He always makes a way.
I want to take a moment and point out that our heart’s desire must be seeking the will of God for our lives. We can not expect God to make a way when we are seeking to further our own plan. We can not expect Him to send grace and favor, when we have an ulterior motive. You know what I mean…sometimes we want what we want, and we convince ourselves that because we desire something with all our hearts, that it must be the will of God for our lives. But the problem is that every desire that we have was not placed in our hearts by God. We must make sure that we submit our desires to Him, so that He can purify them, and show us which way to go. We can not trick God into blessing us. He knows the real reasons that we do what we do. And He will only bless us when our true desire is to please Him.
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT)
God blesses us based on our motives.
Although my husband and I weren’t sure that we were doing the right thing, our hearts were in the right place. And because of that, we believed that God would honor our every step by sending His grace ahead of us. And that is exactly what happened. I can’t even begin to share with you the amount of favor that God gave us throughout our journey. Not only did God guide us, but he provided for us. He provided the right relationships. He provided financially, and He gave us the strength to continue to trust in Him. Over and over again, God sent encouragement and blessings through complete strangers. Every step of the way, He revealed Himself to us. He revealed that He is our provider and we can trust in Him. He revealed that He is a healer, healing wounds that had been buried for years. He showed us that He is in the details…He made sure that even the smallest of our needs was taken care of. And beyond all of that, He began to speak purpose into our lives.
God reveals purpose after we take a leap of faith.
God often gives us an instruction without giving us the reason. And He most definitely will not give us the whole plan up front. But when we take a leap of faith, and obey His instructions, He will continue to reveal more of Himself. And as He reveals Himself to us, He will begin to show us how we fit into His amazing plan.
My husband and I chose to leave everything behind, but God gave us so much more. He gave us a new vision, a dream that we could run towards. Before taking this leap of faith, I would have never imagined that I would be here, writing to you. But in that season of trusting God, He spoke to us. He began to show us why He placed us on this earth. He showed us that it wasn’t so that we could get the satisfaction of living out our dreams. He showed us that our purpose was to use everything that we have, and everything that we’ve been through, to bring glory to His name. And He is still revealing His amazing plan to us. This journey has been nerve wrecking, but it has also been exhilarating. We have done things that we never thought we could do. We have seen God move in ways that are unimaginable. And this is only the beginning.
Are you in a place where you can feel God calling you deeper? Do you feel Him tugging you towards a specific venture, or change? Is He asking you to take a huge leap of faith? If so, I want you to know that He is inviting you to something that will change the trajectory of your life. Just think of all the people that God called in the bible. Think of when He called Abraham. Abraham’s decision to take a leap of faith afforded the Israelites the opportunity to inherit the promised land. Just think about the disciples. Each one of them left everything behind, but they spent day and night witnessing the miracles and person of Jesus. Think of Paul. He chose to leave his life behind, and He became the most prolific writer of the New Testament. The call of God is no small thing. Choosing Him changed my life, the lives of my children, and their children. Our family will forever be marked by this journey.
Now, for a moment, I want you to take a second and think about where you are in life right now. Are you walking in the purpose that God has for you? Are you in a place where the glory of God can shine through your life? If not, I want you to know that the fulfilling life that you desire doesn’t lie in another wise plan. And you can’t find purpose by taking a deep look within. Purpose can only be found in the presence of the Savior. So, if you want all that He has for you, you must choose to be wherever He is. If He is calling you there, you must be there. If He wants you to leave and trust Him, you must leave and trust Him. But also, you must be willing to stay, if He wants you to stay. Most times, walking by faith means doing the opposite of our desires. Many times, it means doing something that seems completely crazy. But when we choose to take a leap of faith, and do something that make no sense, God works miracles. He will completely turn everything upside down, just to build it back up according to His will for our lives. And I can tell you from experience that there is nothing better than a story written God. His plans for you are beyond your wildest dreams. All you have to do is trust Him. Take that first step, and trust, by faith, that He will lead you to the next step, and the next. And before you know it, you will be looking back in awe of what He’s done in your life.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for the amazing plan that you have for my life. Right now, I am making the decision to turn from my plans, so that I can seek your will for my life. All I want is to live the life that you have for me. All I want is to walk in purpose, so that Your name can be glorified through me. But I know that in order for me to receive the life that you have for me, I must remain committed to obeying your instructions, even if I must take a leap of faith, and do something that I have never done before. I will choose to trust in you Father, instead of leaning on my own understanding. I choose to put all my hope in you…to trust in you…because I know that you will never let me down. I have faith that as I walk towards you, you will send your grace ahead of me. I believe that you are my protector, my provider, my healer, and the God that will never leave my side. Today, I choose to let go of all control, so that you can rewrite my story. I love you Father, in Jesus name, amen.
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