Tag: Leap of Faith

Cannonball Faith

  
Ever have a time in your life where you took a big risk? A leap of faith?

I’m in the middle of one of those “leaps” right now. But have you ever felt opposition hit you head on as soon as you take that faith step?

Sometimes I wonder if the moment we take that first step, a big, flashing sign goes off in hell reminding Satan to try his best to keep us from taking one more step. It can be physical opposition or it can be mental. Sometimes our minds can be our own worst enemy when it comes to living a life by faith.

Trust me here, I’m preaching to the choir on this – I need it more than anyone right now as I have quickly realized that taking a leap of faith is both the scariest and most thrilling thing ever.But It’s easy when you take a leap and don’t see immediate results to feel like that leap was a failure. However, you only risk it becoming a failure if you let fear take hold. That’s when I ended up texting a trusted friend, asking “Have you ever taken a leap only to feel like it was more of a belly flop?”

Her response? “No leap is ever a flop if it’s done in faith.”

Have I mentioned before I have some of the best, Godly friends in the world? I can’t imagine doing life with out such people to turn to.

So I began really thinking about faith in my every day life and started thinking of “leaps” we take every day. You may not fervently seek God in prayer over every little thing you do in your day, but just leaving your home each morning is a step of faith if you really think about it. Yes, some steps and leaps are bigger than others. But to God, THEY’RE ALL THE SAME!

His word says in Luke 17:6 (NIV), “He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you!”

Faith as small as a mustard seed…that’s really small in case you were wondering. Like minuscule. And I’ve got at least that much faith. I wasn’t saved at the age of 4 and have grown up in church and ministries to not at LEAST have that much faith. So then I began thinking to myself, if I don’t question those little faith steps every day because I trust so wholeheartedly in my faith, then why am I even questioning the big leaps? I have enough faith to take on the biggest of leaps!!

And that’s when Facebook spoke to me.

Has that ever happened to you? Just when you need it most, someone posts something or shares something that is just what you need to hear (or read). Some people might be opposed to social media, but I kind of love it for reasons just like this.

“Many of you are being violently fought by the enemy because he sees what your future holds. Think of the good that will follow, and don’t let a challenge intimidate you. God is GREATER than your GREATEST opposition.”

It really hit me then; I not only have enough faith to take the biggest of leaps and not worry about failing, but I serve a God who is bigger than EVERYTHING!

So be encouraged in His word and in your faith. You might not think it’s very big or that you can stand up against whatever you might be facing, but you can!

(Fair warning. I like analogies. So just go with it.)

It takes faith to jump from a diving board. Oh boy do I know that to be true…you’re talking about a girl here, who can’t stand the thought of water deeper than her 5’3″ height – although I love snorkeling, so go figure that one. Back to the diving board. If you are on the diving board and getting ready to take that big leap, and of course the only way to do it is to do it BIG, so you decide to do a cannonball. You take a step back before taking off, jumping, and tucking your knees to your chest. That cannonball is about to be the most successful cannonball ever as long as you don’t let fear take hold of you. When you let fear take hold in the middle of that cannonball, you let go of your grip, and most likely end up in a painful belly flop (or side flop, or back flop, but a flop none-the-less).

What does all of that mean? Have CANNONBALL FAITH!!! An all-in mentality. Let go of your fear and take hold of your faith and before you know it, you won’t just be doing cannonballs anymore, you’ll be stepping out and doing your own Peter walk on the water!!

When God Says “Wait”

  
I’m going to go in a bit of a different direction with this blog. I promise not to disappoint, but I want to share a bit of my heart. And if you don’t like religion, well tough, because God is the center of my being, so deal with it. But I do hope you read on.

Being single and in your 30’s is no easy thing to walk out. It means you’ve now spent more than a decade of not only watching your friends get married, but also start their own families. You watch as everyone else lives out the desires you hold deep in your heart.

Watching everyone else live out the very thing you want most in life is difficult; like pouring salt in an open wound. But then you hear that still, small voice inside say “wait”.

You attend another shower, wedding, birth, party and think “when will it be my turn?” But then you hear that still, small voice inside say “wait”.

You see friends, some happy, some unhappy, and think “any relationship would be better than none”. But then you hear that still, small voice inside say “wait” and you remember the words spoken over you years ago – you ARE more precious than gold, settle for no less.

When you hear the Lord speak to you, telling you to “wait”, you take notice.

But “waiting” is so easy, in theory. In action, you want to do anything but wait and one can liken it to wading through a pool of honey – as if the harder you try to move, the more stuck in one place you become.  And from there, it’s a quick spiral into doubting your own self-worth.

But again you hear “wait”. So you…wait.

At this point all you can do is seek God and find the calmness in His promises.

So two years ago I began studying the Psalms that the Lord laid on my heart. For months I meditated on them. I underlined every time the word “unfailing love” appeared. It was through this time, months spent reading and re-reading the Psalms, that I began having a new rhema of God’s unfailing love for me.

Psalm 21: 2-7 (NLT)
For you have given him his heart’s desire; you have withheld nothing he requested. You welcomed him back with success and prosperity. You placed a crown of finest gold on his head. He asked you to preserve his life, and you granted his request. The days of his life stretch on forever. Your victory brings him great honor, and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty. You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord. The unfailing love of the most high will keep him from stumbling.

While the first part of this passage stands out (the desires of your heart!), the last promise of His unfailing love spoke volumes to me. Not only will His love never fail me, His love will sustain me and keep me from stumbling.

For two years, this is the truth I have held on to. And as I began having a revelation of God’s love for me, I began hearing bits of God’s heart and His desires for me, placed into my own. I no longer just heard “wait”. I heard the reason behind that “wait”. I began to see God weaving His story for my life, His promises, and for the first time I truly understood that His “wait” meant He was orchestrating the greatest love story of all and it will be worth all the “wait” in the world.

Does this mean I don’t have difficult days feeling down? No. But it means I wait, sometimes patiently, sometimes not so patiently. Does this mean God has revealed it all to me these past two years? Not at all. But it does mean that I’ve hidden away in my heart those things He has revealed. I can’t share it all with you 😉 Just know the last two years haven’t only been a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs with online dating. The last two years have taught me, to wait on God and His best. They’ve taught me to sit in the stillness of the night and listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to my soul.  But most importantly, they’ve taught me that when God says “Wait”, He’ll follow it up with “now take a leap of faith”.