Friday, February 27, 2009

Taking the Leap of Faith

We all know that all too often the Lord calls us to do something for Him that does not seem to make sense…for some unspoken reason, it seems to go against our normal way of doing and walking in faith with our Father. So, there we stand, hands on our hips, asking…”God, are you REALLY sure that this is what you want me to do…that this is the way you want me to do it?” Sometimes, God just wants us to take that leap of faith and experience Him in complete trust and submission.

However, since our God is a God of order and design, he more often calls us to surrender to His plan that is clearly marked before us. Take for instance, the story of His people; led from Egypt to the very border of the Promised Land of Canaan. He had already promised that he would provide the Israelites with a new homeland and he gave to Moses, their leader, the plan they were to follow in order to secure this unknown land.

The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.” So at the Lord’s command Moses send them out from the Desert of Paran. When Moses sent them out to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are weak or strong, few or many? What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land. Numbers 13:1, 17-20

Did you catch all that Moses instructed the twelve spies to do…the questions that were to be answered …the information that would need to be gathered before God’s chosen people could inherit the new land? They were to step out in faith to capture this new land… God had a plan and He wanted to reveal it to them in a timely and orderly manner. To do so, they would first need to do some reconnaissance….they would first need to gather all the information that would allow them to follow more clearly what God had already ordained.

The same is true for you and me. Sometimes, we need to blindly take that leap of faith and trust that God will be there to catch us if we fall or fail; however, we must know, in our heart of hearts, that we have truly heard the voice of God and that our leap is in obedience and not out of a selfish desire.

Most of the time, we need to proceed as the Israelites….we need to scout the “unknown” territory and seek answers to some timely, important questions regarding the direction God is leading….He will not be offended. In fact, in James 1:5, we are reminded that God is the giver of all wisdom, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…and it will be given to him.”

Today, maybe God has set before you some unknown territory that He wants you to take for His kingdom…it may require a leap of faith or a more methodical manner of seeking wisdom and asking some tough questions. Either way, you can be sure that God has the answers and a plan that He’s just waiting to share…why not apply the questions that Moses gave his spies….simple and effective in their nature to determine what lay before them. Whatever you do to seek God’s guidance, start with this….

YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS AND EXPECT GOD TO PROVIDE THE ANSWERS…

Then, maybe that leap of faith won’t seem so scary and God will be honored in your obedience….


Asking His direction….seeking His wisdom …obeying His call,

WPQ

No comments: