Stepping Out In Faith, Part 7

Good morning to you! I pray you are doing well and that every part of your being is prospering. This blog is the last in the series of “Stepping Out In Faith.” Vickie and I have found ourselves doing this quite frequently as we’ve been on an extended mission trip to the DR. Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support!

With that being said, let’s talk about stepping out in faith. It definitely requires motion/walking, which involves taking steps. We need to get our feet, minds, and hearts moving in the direction that God has told us to go, and He will be with us every inch of the way. The prudent man considers well his steps. Are we even taking steps? Some are standing still waiting for God to do something, but He has already dictated the direction in which He wants us to go. It’s up to us to take that step!

I encourage you to consider well the steps you’re taking. Are you being proactive to change your perspective on life and come into line with the way that God sees things? I’m telling you, that’s a game changer. Has God’s purpose become clear to you?

I’ve always been passionate about world missions; in fact, I was reminded about a time before I was even saved and still a kid. John Kennedy was the president, and he started this thing called the “Peace Corp.” I read a book about it, and I said to myself, “I’m joining the Peace Corp.” I wanted to do this, not only to go to remote places in the world, but I also wanted to help people. This was years before I became a Christian. I have a passion for missions!

Maybe you’re trying to determine what God’s purpose is for your life. Let me ask you a simple question: what’s your passion? Some of you might say, “Man, my passion is to get rich and make money.” There’s nothing wrong with that. You know why? Because guys like me need people like you, and you can give me the money to go do what God has put in my heart to do. We need one another. Activities in the Kingdom of God need to get financed. Who do you think is going to finance it? God has yet to cut a hole in the ceiling. We ain’t never had a hole cut in CCC’s roof for money to be dropped in, but we did have one case years ago where there was a hole cut in the roof—inside job—and they stole the whole safe with all of the Sunday morning tithes and offerings.

Finances come in through people. I don’t sit around praying, “God, just drop it from the sky.” No, it’s more like, “God, prosper your people so the Gospel can go forth.” We have airplane tickets to buy, and there are souls to be saved and disciples made. The Kingdom needs money generators; there’s nothing wrong with that.

What’s your purpose? What’s your desire? I’m not even asking for the motive behind it. If you have a strong desire to do something, chances are, that’s God’s purpose for your life. Right there. Boom. “Well, I’d like to be a nurse . . . I’d like to be a schoolteacher . . . I’d like to be a doctor . . . I’d like to be a lawyer.” God puts that desire in you because He has a purpose for you. Ya gotta be enthusiastic about God’s purpose. That’s what desire is: it’s enthusiasm to achieve something.

So Father, I pray for an ignition of passion; I pray, God, that we would do what’s needed to get our minds renewed and our feet moving in the right direction.

In Him,

pg

Stepping Out In Faith, Part 1

We want to always obtain the promises before we’ve done the will of God, but that’s backwards. God’s Word says, “So that after you have done the will of God that you may obtain the promises.” You have need of endurance, of perseverance. You’re going to have to learn to persevere and honor the process. As we’ve said before, every one of us is somewhere between where we used to be and where we’re going. Every one of us is at some stage in the process.

The book of Proverbs tells us that the prudent man considers well his steps. The “prudent man” here means, “He who walks with a level of wisdom of knowledge, of understanding about life.” The prudent person is going to consider well his steps as Proverbs 14:15 says.

As we make progress, we’re going to move from standing to walking. Standing requires us to stand and be still. Walking involves taking steps. How do you define walking? Can you walk without going anywhere? Well, you’re going to go somewhere, even if you go in circles and end up in the same place, you went somewhere! Walking involves steps, so here’s the essence of walking in the promises: in order to experience the greater measure of the promises of God, you’re going to have to take some steps. You’re going to have to do something. It’s not because God needs our help; He is the All-Sufficient One. However, He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God rewards faith, and He says, “The just shall live by faith.” 

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:26 (NLT) says, “I run with purpose in every step.” What steps are you taking in order to experience a greater measure of God’s promises and God’s blessing? If you’re not stepping, you’re not walking. If you’re not walking, you’re not walking by faith: you’re standing still. You’re going to have to step out which requires you to do something.

I want you to take some time today and consider the steps you’re taking. You say you want to do this, but you’re really doing that. “Boy, I’d really like to learn to play the piano.” Personally, I’ve shared with Ms. Judy that I’d love to learn to play the piano, but so far I have not taken the first step.

Wanting to do it and doing it are two entirely different things. How bad do you want to do it? Do you want the promises of God fulfilled in your life bad enough to take the steps necessary to experience them? You’re going to have to get moving, honey!

In my most recent blogs, we’ve been talking about walking by faith, right? We walk by faith, not by sight. Walking involves taking steps; it involves movement. Everyone who is walking is moving in a direction. It may or may not be the direction of God’s will; it may or may not be moving closer to the fulfillment of God’s promises. But every one of us, when we’re walking, we’re moving in a specific direction.

In regard to the above, let me ask you this: Is it easier to walk forward or to walk backwards? FORWARD! Have you ever felt like you were taking one step forward and two steps backwards? You may feel like, “Man, I’m just not getting anywhere!” There may be a reason for that; you just might not be getting anywhere! I’m just sayin’. So many of God’s people seem to take a step forward, but then take two steps back, not understanding that it’s harder to walk backwards than it is to walk forwards, so you just might as well man up, woman up, or saddle up, and move forward.

In the long run, it’s going to be a whole lot easier, and you will save steps! If I take one step forward and two steps back and one step forward and two steps back, I’m making progress, but it’s not forward progress. Even if I take two steps forward and one step back, I’ll make progress, but it will take me twice as long. The process will be lengthened, and it is not due to anything that God is or is not doing, it’s because I am not moving forward.

Listen to me. Faith requires steps. Walking by faith requires steps. I don’t care what area of life we’re talking about. Your finances might be a mess, and you know that you need to take steps like setting a budget, cutting up the credit cards, learning to save, or whatever it might be, but so far you’re not taking the steps, and you can’t figure out why God isn’t moving! God will move in response to the steps that we take in the direction in which we’re moving. 

~ pg