Step out on faith

I am not sure that we realize what faith is. It's easy to have faith that God will do something for "that person". It's even easy to have faith that God can do anything. What happens to our faith when we are in a situation of our?

The Bible describes Abraham as a man of faith. He left all he knew, the security of his father's house, the security of the city and traveled to places unknown. Places of danger and truthfully, places that he had no idea how he was going to get through. The Bible is filled with people of similar circumstances. People who did things opposite to the comfort and to what they knew.

Society would have us have all these plans and back up plans and agendas for doing things. Everything we do must make sense, it must fall in line with what is "normal". So, you plan for retirement, you make a financial future for yourself and kids, possibly grand children. You work 16 hour days just to make that happen and if you can, you fit God in there somewhere some Sunday into your schedule.

But God is different. He doesn't do "normal". Things that He asks of us requires us to step out of the planning and agendas, to leave the comfort zones and easy way out. He asks us to do things where there is no Plan B...just Plan A. He asks us to do unconventional things. Things that are outside of our reach, things that are only accomplished with Him. Things that simply do not make sense.

It sounds weird but I have likened that to faith. If I could do it myself and it made sense, how is that faith?? It made no sense for Abraham to leave the shelter of his home, no sense for Ruth to follow Naomi, no sense for Peter to step out onto water and it made no sense for Jesus to die on a cross for people who would ridicule him. But most times, the desire to be with Jesus, to be near Jesus compels us and we end up doing things that the world says "makes no sense" but maybe, just maybe that's what God calls "stepping out on faith"

The Big Reveal

I have taken time to re-read my blog posts from over the years and I have noticed a distinct trend running through them. I may not have labeled it or I may have danced around the issue but I realized for a few years, in some shape or form, that I have been battling fear. I know I wrote a post specificially on the issue but it wasn't until I read the posts again did I "hear" it in everything that was written. It's weird because it wasn't until that moment that I realized it was a constant. I stated how much I trust God, how much I loved God but yet I was stuck in this place of fear. Peter denied Christ. Three times to be exact. And he did so out of fear. Funny thing is, prior to this, he walked on water to meet Jesus. He stepped out on water on faith. He didn't rationalize how it was possible, he didn't fear, he saw Jesus and walked over to him. It has been said that once he took his eyes off of Jesus he began to sink. Later, out of fear, he denied ever knowing or being with Jesus. Fear keeps us from doing exactly what God wants to do. Fear not only hinders the blessing of someone else but it also hinders our own blessing. As I speak to someone or do something God asks, maybe I will be able to step out on faith and have my walk on water experience. I think fear is selfish. I know! How can I possibly say that after I have been saying that I have been quite fearful. Well, our fear keeps us from blessing someone else. What if, just maybe, the girl that asked Peter about Jesus and if he was with him, wanted to hear stories? What if she was asking because she'd seen the crowds or heard stories from her parents who heard it from the neighbors who heard it from a friend? What if she was asking because she had finally met someone who was there, who had first hand knowledge and all she wanted was to hear about this Jesus that had that town in an uproar. Fear does that to us. In one form or the other. We miss out on experiences because it's new or different and we don't dare do that. We don't go to places or speak to people about Christ because we may not be able to answer the questions. I don't ever think that God intended for us to be sooo super knowledgeable that we had an answer for everything. I'm learning it's okay to say "I don't know". But what if, just maybe, the question that you didn't know the answer to sparks something in you to go and look it up and in doing so, you find out more about who God is? And maybe, grow deeper in your pursuit of Christ. Fear is a tricky thing but it's the one thing that the devil will use time and time again. Fear keeps our eyes on our limitations. We are afraid because WE can't do it. We can't understand it, it doesn't make sense. So we...we fear. If we are living in a state of fear, even in one area of our lives, that means we become like Peter, we take our eyes off of Christ. Just imagine if we chose to focus on Jesus Christ. Not our problem, not the situation, not even how we are going to making through, just focus on Jesus, keep our eyes on Him. If we we could do that, we could walk on water.

Vacation

I have been counting down to my vacation because it would be a turning point for me. Well, I am here!! I left the country and just getting out of the hustle and bustle of the city has been .... refreshing. The stress seemed to dissipate as I stepped off the plane. My worries seemed to be so insignificant. It just felt good. I have wanted to move back home for a few years. It was always the plan but recently it became more of a forerunner. Then I started spending time with my family again and all of a sudden, it wasn't just a passing thought or something I would look into ever so often. Now, it was more like "how quickly can I move?" I didn't realize how much I missed my family until I have been around them for a few weeks over the past few years. More recently past few months. It feels good. It feels like.....home So, I guess I figured out what my new adventure is going to be. I remember my birthday and felt like a new chapter was going to begin in my life. Maybe this is it. Maybe, just maybe, I am preparing to go back home.