Take the Step

 If a person lives a moderately active lifestyle and makes it to 80, that person will walk a little over 216 million steps. We celebrate steps. Families cheer a baby's first steps. We celebrate steps in sporting events. People even keep count of their steps on smart devices. A few years ago the craze was to try and walk 10,000 steps everyday. 

The topic on my mind has nothing to do with any of those steps. I am thinking about the next step of faith God will call you to take. Steps of faith look risky. There are no guarantees. A true step of faith originates with God. There is something He wants to do or wants done. Some purpose He has in mind. He communicates that to His followers. Many times what He communicates will look impossible, outlandish, and irrational. At that point a decision will be made. Choose to believe God and step out in obedience. Doubt and hesitate or withdraw. in disobedience. 

Do we take the step or do we retreat to our comfort zones? Many would counsel to retreat or to wait until the odds are more in your favor. They would advise to calculate the risk/reward ratio and only step out when convinced you have the greatest opportunity to succeed. I think we should listen to God carefully and when we are assured He is calling us to a certain assignment we should take the step of faith. 

Many remain on the edge of what God calls them to do. They get close, but refuse to step out waiting for God to move. He very well may be waiting for us to take the first step before He moves. Take the priests standing on the banks of the Jordan in the book of Joshua. When did God stop the flow of water so they could cross over into the promise land? It was after the priests took the step. They risked getting wet because they believed God called them to go possess the land. When they stepped, the water stopped flowing and the nation was able to cross over. Not before they stepped. The miracle happened after the step of faith.

That initial faith step can be hard. Fears may arise. Failure may flash before our eyes. Our pulse may quicken. A thousand thoughts of why that step may not be a good idea can bounce in our minds. We may not see any possible way to succeed in the assignment. God designed it that way. It forces us to depend on Him. That is the point. He wants us to depend on Him. He wants to display His power. He wants to be glorified when He does impossible things. It all starts with a step. An offering. A phone call. An interview. A move. A change of professions. Stepping into a new ministry. Taking a mission trip. 

I am thinking about a lady named Christi. She was incredibly shy. When we began talking about taking our first mission trip in that church, she mentioned to me one night in passing that she had thought about going. She was reluctant. Her hesitation centered around her shyness. She did not see how God could possibly use her. I counseled her to pray through it and if God wanted her to go to take the step of faith. Her husband encouraged her to go. She said yes. She took the step. 

I wish you could have been there when I witnessed shy little Christi boldly sharing the gospel with a drunk named Walter on the streets. She pointed Walter to Jesus fearlessly. She was not shy in that moment because God was working through her. When she took the step God did the let her down. He empowered her to do what she never thought she would be able to do in a thousand years. After that initial trip, Christi was a fixture on future trips and even took a mission trip to Africa. She became a bold witness on the other side of taking a faith step. 

What is that step for you? I took one this morning. I stepped out toward the Jordan prepared to get my feet wet unless God intervenes. I am sure He will call me to do the same thing numerous more times. Take the step. Trust God with the first step and see what He does next. It might look a little scary, but God can be trusted. Take the step of obedience. It will lead to some exciting God moments. Just take the step.