The day that God called me to write and speak His truth was a turning point in my life. What had previously seemed like a difficult period was actually preparation and training for the most exciting plan that God had ever shared with me.
Although I was full of passion and optimism I knew that what God had just asked me to do was far beyond my abilities. I knew absolutely nothing about starting and maintaining a website or creating content. I didn’t have the first clue on how to go about being a blogger or using the written word to reach an internet audience. To get where God was asking me to go was going to take a lot of faith.
I’ve been a regular church attendee for most of my life. I know the definition of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen” (Hebrews 11:1). Even so, knowing the definition of faith was not going to be enough. I was going to have to live out what I had learned. I certainly hoped that God would bless my efforts as I labored to learn all I needed to know about being a blogger. And I believe that hope in God is always rewarded as we strive to do His will.
But what about the evidence of things unseen? Matthew Henry, who was a Presbyterian Minister in the 17th century, wrote “Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye”. I certainly had no physical evidence to support God’s claim that I could do what He was asking me to do. And if I had waited on that physical evidence to show up before I began I would never have started. But by exercising my faith in God I trusted that He would give me what I needed exactly when I needed it.
This is God’s way. We can see this pattern in the 16th Chapter of Exodus when the Israelites were in the wilderness and were in need of food. They cried out to God and each day God caused manna from heaven to fall to the ground. With this provision came the instruction to take only what was needed for that day. God wanted His people to see His provision as fresh and new every single day and so it is with us.
I have also seen this in my own life. In my 2nd year of college my family was facing some financial difficulties. As I approached the end of the first semester it looked as if I was not going to be able to come back because we simply did not have the money to pay for tuition. We prayed for God’s will and provision and with about a week to go until the end of semester I got a call from one of the college deans.
As I sat in his office that afternoon he asked me why I had not enrolled for the following semester. I explained what was going on with my family and he listened. As I finished he told me that it was his desire for me to stay in school and that I would be the beneficiary of a financial gift that had been provided by someone outside the school who just wanted to help a student in need. This gift had just come in the mail. It was just enough to keep me in school and it was just in time.
God grew my faith that day.
God is still growing my faith. I look back at the last several months and I can see how God provided for me at every turn and how every day it is He who is giving me the message and providing my direction.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Day by day I am learning the truth of Hebrews 11:6. If you are reading this it is my prayer that you also know the truth of Hebrews 11:6 and the power of a life lived by faith in God alone. He loves you; He died for you and the life He now offers you is richer and fuller than you could ever imagine. All you have to do is take that first step of faith. God is waiting.
What step is God asking you to take on faith today?