A Step of Faith

Have you ever been faced with a challenge you didn’t feel prepared for or a task you felt unqualified to complete or a situation that took you out of your comfort zone? Did you step-up to those challenges, or did you turn tail and run?

I’ve had such instances occur often in my life, such as starting a new career, becoming a mother, starting this blog site, meeting certain people, and speaking to others about Christ, just to name a few. I’ve found over the years that while I feel like I’m inadequate at times, I am capable of much more than I realize.

When I’ve met challenges head-on, I usually conquered them, sometimes on my own but often with the help of others, especially the Lord. However, after running away from past trials, I have almost always been left with a feeling of disappointment in myself along with the frustrating thoughts of “what if.”

There’s a quote attributed to the famous inventor Thomas Edison: “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” I’ve always liked that quote because it reminds me that no matter how much effort I give, I can always give a little more. However, I would go further to say, “If we did all the things that God makes us capable of, we would literally astound and change the world.”

For many years, I thought I had been saved when I was eleven years old. I remember praying to God to save me, I gave a profession of faith to my pastor at the time, and I was even baptized. However, I started feeling convicted by the Lord in my early twenties, and I began to doubt my salvation.

I remember arguing with myself that I couldn’t not be saved because I had done all the things I was supposed to do. I also told many people I was saved over the years and even stood up in my previous church to announce it and was accepted as a member by the congregation.

However, every sermon that I heard, every church gathering I attended, every prayer, every biblical discussion was a challenge for me because more and more the Lord revealed to my heart that I was lost. I had never truly had that change of heart or a desire to know God more fully, and I never completely surrendered my life to Him.

Once I knew that for certain, I felt like a fraud. I was afraid to tell anyone and embarrassed because I felt I had misled others and myself.

I vividly remember the night I was truly saved. I was attending a revival, and my father-in-law was preaching. When the alter call began, I knew the charade was over. I was literally sobbing and forced my fingers to release the chair I was holding onto. Broken and humble, I stood up and took one step out into the aisle. That’s all it took because after that, my feet kept moving forward until my mother-in-law met me halfway, and my life was changed forever.

Faith doesn’t grow without challenge, and you can’t overcome challenge without moving forward. You can’t move forward if you don’t take the first step, and sometimes that first step can be the hardest one.

Sometimes life feels like a race, and it can be scary to step onto certain paths. I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” While that may be accurate, I feel like there are often sprints interspersed within that marathon.

The Lord gives us some instructions for our journey. “Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way….The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day,” (Proverbs 4:10-15, 18).

Often on our journey we come to a crossroads where we must make choices to either turn left or right, advance, stay put, or go back the way we came. We tend to take the path of least resistance because it’s an easier choice, and there are fewer obstacles in our way.

If there are fewer barriers in front of us, we are more likely to succeed in reaching our destination, right? It’s true that we may more easily get somewhere, but if you always take the easy road, is that really success?

We must consider, where are we going? Where do we want to end up? If we’re alive, then we’re headed in some direction. However, just because we’re on an easy path to somewhere, that place may not be the place we need to be.

One of my favorite poems is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. The ending line reads: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Similarly, Matthew 7:13-14 instructs, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

When we take the easy road or go through the wide gate, we may feel like we’re doing pretty good for ourselves, but we will never truly know how much we can accomplish if we don’t push ourselves daily to do those things that are difficult to do.

This is especially true on our voyage with Christ. We cannot truly be a devoted servant for Him if we don’t step out of our own way, focus on Him, take a step of faith, and start moving forward.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Keep the Pace

In ancient times, people would primarily run to deliver news, when going into battle, or when there were threats of danger. These days, we usually run for exercise, during competitive races, or again, when there are threats of danger.

If you’re a distance runner, you’ve likely experienced the phenomenon of “hitting the wall,” the point in a marathon when your body essentially runs out of energy (or fuel). I could go into an explanation of how the body utilizes carbohydrates, specifically glycogen, during exercise before switching to other energy sources like fats and protein; however, I won’t bore you with that.

How well you pace yourself in a race (along with nutrition, hydration, and adequate training leading up to the race) makes a big difference in how quickly you run out of energy. This is the same in our faith journey. We must properly train, study, and keep our minds and bodies healthy through exercise, good nutrition, prayer, and reading God’s Word.

Sometimes in life, we’re going to hit the wall. Unless you’re the luckiest person alive, this is simply inevitable. In a race, when you hit the wall, it is recommended you slow your pace down or even walk if needed. You may need to stop and stretch out your muscles, catch your breath, or quickly refuel with some carbs.

In Exodus 33:14, the Lord instructs the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Taking a rest is okay and even good for us at times; however, don’t quit. Get back out there and keep going. Don’t focus on the finish line but just on that next step and then the next step and then the next step, until you’re back at a pace that is ideal for you.

It’s like the story “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Slow and steady wins the race. You may feel you’ve hit the wall in your current relationship, in your career, with an addiction, in your prayer life, with your work for Christ, etc. You may feel like you’re done, like you can’t move forward anymore or you’ll collapse as your legs give out.

If you’ve stopped moving forward in some area of your life, ask the Lord to give you some surefooted strength to get back at it. Wherever you’re struggling today, you can conquer it with the Lord’s help because He has overcome the world! You can too with Christ beside you rooting for your every step.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).

Stay the Course

How many times have you reached out to the Lord and received no answer? That can be frustrating, especially when we’re dealing with something heavy in life.

We often reach out to God the most fervently when we’re going through struggles. We expect an answer right away because in our minds, we’re in crisis mode or very near it. However, what appears to be critical to us may be something the Lord already has well in hand. We just don’t know it yet.

How many times have you given up waiting on God’s answer or instruction and decided to make your own decision or do your own thing or forget about the issue completely? I think we’ve all done this before. However, we must remember perseverance and endurance are key, and sometimes that means simply waiting for that next direction as we continue the marathon that is life. Waiting in prayer for the Lord’s answer is a crucial part of our faith journey.

“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint,” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

There is an example in the Bible of a woman who, in a dire situation, reached out to Jesus. Although her attempt met with challenge and criticism, she stayed the course and humbled herself until she got her answer. You can read about this woman in Matthew 15:21-28.

Jesus had traveled from the town of Gennesaret, on the northwestern coast of the Sea of Galilee, to the region of Tyre and Sidon, located along the Mediterranean Sea. There, a Canaanite woman sought out Jesus. “…Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly,” (Matthew 15:22).

As a mother, I can’t even imagine what this woman was going through…feeling completely helpless while watching her daughter suffer. This mother was desperate. She had hit the wall, and she knew there was only one way to overcome it. Jesus!

However, Matthew 15:23 informs us that, “Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him. ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’” Jesus said nothing to this woman although she was crying out to Him. I’m sure we can relate as God is sometimes silent when we petition Him.

Even more frustrating is that the disciples are annoyed with this woman and want her to go away and leave them in peace. Do you ever feel like you’re irritating God by asking for the same things over and over? Sometimes, when we don’t get the results we want right away, we feel unworthy and disqualify ourselves by quitting.

However, a life of faith is one of endurance. “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith,” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a).

Jesus doesn’t send the woman away, so she stays and endures. Nevertheless, her challenges aren’t over. In Matthew 15:24 Jesus does respond to her: “He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’” Jesus is telling the woman that He came for the Jewish people, and she is not Jewish. Ouch! However, the woman doesn’t take offense and instead perseveres because He didn’t say “no.”

“The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said,” (Matthew 15:25). This woman was willing to humble herself and stay kneeling at Jesus’ feet until He gave her a direct answer. Her prayer wasn’t anything eloquent but was a sincere cry for help.

Jesus then tested the woman further. “He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs,’” (Matthew 15:26). Again, I say, “Ouch!”

While this seems like a harsh response from our Lord and Savior, Jesus is saying these things for a reason. This woman needs faith that she doesn’t even realize she is capable of. Jesus is trying to reveal her faith in this moment.

Just like this woman, we often don’t realize the amount of faith and perseverance we truly have until we come to a point when we desperately need them. It’s like an adrenaline rush in fight-or-flight situations that gives us strength or speed we wouldn’t normally have.

In the next verse, we see the woman continues to stay the course, and her deep faith in Jesus is revealed. “’Yes it is, Lord,’ she said. ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,’” (Matthew 15:27). And there it is. Her great faith in Christ.

Jesus refers to her as a dog, and she doesn’t argue. She expresses that while she isn’t a Jewish woman, she still needs Him. Unlike a wild animal, a tame one has a master. She infers that Jesus is her master, and like a tame dog she will sit at His feet until a crumb falls off the table. She is going to stay and endure until she gets that single crumb, because that’s all she needs.

“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour,” (Matthew 15:28). She stayed the course and refused to quit until she got the reward. Furthermore, she humbly worshipped the Lord and revealed her faith before she ever received His miracle, not after.

Jesus went out of His way to travel to the region where this woman was. Just as He met her right where she was, He also meets us exactly where we are in our time of need. He walks or runs beside us every step of the way. While we may not get the results we’re looking for right away, or even at all, if we remain devoted to the Lord, He will ensure we get exactly what we need.

No matter how many times you stumble, whether you’re struggling up a steep hill or tripping on the downward slope, you’ve got this! You’re not running this marathon alone because Christianity is not an individual sport. You can go faster and farther running in a group, so lean on your sisters and brothers in Christ.

If you feel like you’re just wandering around without a destination or if you feel like you’re not on the path God wants you on, I encourage you to get there. Start by taking that first step of faith. Then, once you’ve started the journey, keep a steady pace so you don’t hit the wall. Finally, persevere in faith and stay the course.

Remember, while everyone runs, not everyone finishes. Whatever race you’re currently running, finish, and finish strong so you can one day say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Have a blessed week!

-Becky