|  | | May 1 | | | | | And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. | | | | Acts 22:10 | | | | ‘Go into the city, Paul, and when you get there, further instructions will be given.’ That’s always the way of the Lord: One step at a time. He gives His people one instruction, and waits until they obey it before more information is given.
In the midst of a great revival taking place through Philip’s ministry in Samaria, the Lord told him to go to Gaza. Philip obeyed, and the Ethiopian eunuch was saved (Acts 8).
While Peter was praying on his rooftop, the Lord instructed him to follow three men who would knock on his door. Peter obeyed, and the house of Cornelius was converted (Acts 10).
The Lord called Abraham from Ur, and told him to follow Him one step at a time. Abraham obeyed, and a nation was born (Hebrews 11:8).
Every time the Lord calls a man or a woman, every time He wants to bless someone, He does it by encouraging them to take a step of faith. Many times a lot of us miss out on years, or even a lifetime, of being in God’s will because we don’t act on the singular instruction He gives us. Precious people, we must obey the one thing the Lord has made known to us either through His Word, through times of prayer, or through the desires He has placed within our hearts.
If we knew how it was going to work — it wouldn’t be faith.
If we knew where the supplies would come from — it wouldn’t be faith.
If we had it all mapped out — it wouldn’t be faith.
Faith says, ‘Okay, Lord. Like Abraham I don’t know exactly how it’s all going to work out — but here we go!’
In 1 Samuel 14, the Israelites were at a stand-off in a battle against the Philistines. Perhaps looking up at the stars one night, Jonathan was reminded that the Creator Who made such beauty and displayed such glory was with him constantly. Perhaps pondering God’s promise that one could chase one thousand and two could put to flight ten thousand if they were in God’s will (Deuteronomy 32:30), he poked his armor-bearer and said, ‘Let’s sneak over to the Philistine camp, and see what the Lord might want to do.’
So while the other guys snoozed, Jonathan and his armor-bearer made their way to the camp of the Philistines. As they approached the Philistine garrison, Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘Now wait a minute. We want to be men of faith, but we don’t want to be fools. I’ll yell to the Philistines, and if they say, ‘Stay there, you guys. We see you, and we’re coming to get you,’ — we’ll split and make our way back to camp as fast as we can. But, if they say, ‘Come up here you guys. We’ll take you on’ — we’ll take that as a word from the Lord, and we’ll go get them.’
That’s the way I believe the Christian life should be lived: by taking steps of faith without being foolish. We should put on our armor, get ready for battle, go out to the edge and say, ‘Here we are, Lord. What do You want to do?’
Jonathan called out. The Philistine answered, ‘Hey, come up here and we’ll teach you guys a lesson,’ — and Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘God is with us. Let’s go get ’em.’
God was indeed with them, and a great, miraculous victory took place that day, when two guys took on an entire army — and won.
Stepping out in faith and yet always being willing to pull back if God isn’t in it — that’s the key. Step out in faith — but if you sense the Lord’s not in it, re-group, and see what else He might want to do. Be a Jonathan. Take a step of faith. You’ll never regret it. |
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