by Tonya Woodridge-Jarvis
Lord, thank you. I don’t always do what I should, but I thank you for quickening my spirit when I’m wrong. Allow patience to have its perfect work in me. Amen.
Dare to trust God and step out on faith! The power of trust is not accomplished overnight. The ability to trust comes from your central nervous system, which houses your subconscious mind where previous experiences have been placed, and when certain situations arise in your life you begin to search your internal database to compare the current situation to a past joy or pain you’ve experienced. But I can tell you that God can renew any of those past joys and give you rest for past pains.
Listen to this story:
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand,” Isaiah 41:10.
Growing up in the church you often hear people saying, “I’m stepping out on faith,” but what does that really mean? I’ve often wondered how faith is measured or how much faith one needs to have to begin stepping out on it. Well, God put the test of a lifetime before me, and it was either follow his path or do my own thing and wait for this season to come around again.
Several weeks ago God began sending me on a journey. And on this particular journey, I had God, my faith and myself in tow. I was prompted to apply for law school, but I hadn’t taken the LSAT. I began making plans to move to Nashville, Tenn., to pursue law school, but my job wasn’t transferring me. (Aside: Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I already have steps A-D planned and E is on reserve waiting for my queue.) As I began to take my first step, I must admit, I was a little afraid. I mean stepping out on faith is easily said but less often courageously done.
So, I began to prepare for my assignment; I convinced my husband to sell our home and move into an apartment, took the LSAT, passed, and applied to Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. We started looking for houses in Tennessee and put an offer in that was accepted, but we never went to closing. Devastating, right? Surely, Lord I’m doing what you’ve prompted me to do.
How do you handle a situation where God tells you to do something and it falls through the first time? Surely God wouldn’t lie. At this point, I needed answers; I longed to seek His face even more. I found out that my hands, feet and soul were wonderfully made to worship Him. I was told to stand out, to go against the world. I found out that I could be in the world, but not of the world, and I should remain consistent within God’s Word to receive my reward.
God was preparing me for something far greater than I had ever imagined. The lesson in the story was to see if I could put everything on the line for Him and do what I was told even if I didn’t have a clue about the end result. See, when God tells you something, you need to act on it not react to it. More often than not we as Christians react to His promises instead of acting on His promises. God’s faithfulness is waiting for you, all you have to do is activate it and act on it.
Dare to trust God and step out on faith!
