Stepping in Faith

What qualifies my steps to be steps of faith? Is it throwing aside all caution to the wind and acting on whatever impulse overcomes me? Is it having no purpose or plan and wandering wherever one wills? No, these do not describe the steps of faith, but instead the one who cares not about God’s plan for his life. This perhaps is a harsh thing to say, especially as I would tend to place myself in the latter category. However, I believe God would have each of us step out in faith to prove our dependence on Him. He will show the way and give light for each step…one at a time, though it may be.

Last month I had the opportunity to go to the Holy Land, to walk the places Jesus walked. While there I did more than just tour the different sites or go on a spiritual pilgrimage, although that was a significant part of the trip. One of the things that stood out to me most through my travels around Israel is God’s faithfulness to do what He says He will do. All the places we went to had prophesies tied to them, some even being fulfilled before my eyes (Isaiah 35:1-2). If God is able to fulfill prophesies from 3,000 years ago and even those made at the beginning of time, should I not be willing to step out in faith and do what He calls me to do?

Sometimes all it takes to step out is to hear the Master calling—yes, even beckoning my name. “Peter, if only you will come out to meet me. Never mind the wind and the waves; come out of the boat and draw near to Me.” Simon Peter, not one to let his thoughts get in the way of him doing or saying anything, just lived life as sincere as could be, showing all. In taking that first step of faith by climbing out of the boat, he left his “safe place” to walk to Jesus, the only true source of safety, setting an example for ages to come. However, in his moment of triumph, defying even the laws of nature, Peter faltered seeing the waves around him. How often do I come so close to doing great things for God yet stop short when I see the pressures piling up against me? To allow pressures in the form of fears of failure, worry, growing responsibilities, unspoken expectations, time pressures, or various and sundry other means prohibit my follow-through in the Master’s bidding is to sink into the waves when I was intended to rise above them. The good news is that Jesus was right there to pull Peter out of the sea and calm the storm, and He will come to my aid when I call out to Him in the midst of my trouble.

So how does one “get out of the boat” and make that first step of faith? I submit that first he must confess to Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Proclaiming this is the foundation stone for being used by God. Like Simon Peter, be willing and prepared to do something out of the ordinary. He was the first one God called upon to preach the Word to the Gentiles, and while on mission, God used him to do many miracles and wonderful deeds. Let us each step out in faith and see what great things God has in store for us!