A Man for Go(o)d reflection on:

“When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” ~ Patrick Overton

This quote sums up the concept of faith for me so well I am almost afraid to add to it. All I can think of is an amazing scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In this movie, Indiana Jones is searching for the infamous Holy Grail. Yet, in order to find it Indy has to complete a series of riddles and test.

[**Spoiler Alert**] There comes a point where Indy has to decide to step out on faith. He cannot see anything. He cannot feel anything. He just has to step out. And when, and only when, he fully commits does he discover that there is something there. This is the moment the above quote speaks of, the very moment where faith is realized.

 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.- Hebrews 11:1

This is the place where we believe so deeply in the unseen that it become seen. To get there we must fully commit. We must push past the wavering wonder, through the point of no return, and into the place of expectant hope.

A friend once told me, “Trust that does not require trust is not really trust.” How true this is.  Friend, if you identify yourself as a man of faith then there will be a time were you will have to step out on it (more than once). That’s a fact. If it hasn’t happened yet, it will. It may be about staying at that job you hate or leaving one you love. It may be a family crisis or a serious illness. It may even be a decision about starting a business or a ministry. However it happens, God will meet you in the storm and call you out from the “safety” of the boat to walk on the water (Peter). He will lead you up against a massive army with only 300 men (Gideon).  He will guide you to the sea and tell you to part the waters (Moses). He will lead you into the wilderness and guide you safely through it.

The men I listed above went through these various experiences in faith.  We read the stories and we can skip to the ending to know that it works out. However, I doubt Peter got up that morning thinking, “You know what. I’m gonna walk on water today.” I’ll bet Gideon didn’t plan on approaching the enemy’s camp with 300 men. Yet in the midst of these challenges these men stepped out on God’s faithfulness and did the impossible. They entered into these situation not knowing how it would happen yet knowing it would.

I like to think of building faith the same way I think about exercising or building muscle. It can be a struggle to begin if you haven’t done it in a while. It may even feel uncomfortable or unnatural at first. However, when you train and work out, you will become stronger and more fit. In the same manner, when you read the Bible and fellowship with God through prayer and worship, your hope becomes more secure and your faith increases.

Faith will require action.  So if you are to be ready, you must prepare yourself now. This means fully giving yourself  over to the process of building your faith. When you go to the gym you can’t just walk up to the heaviest weight in there and go at it.  You have to start where you are.  The same is true with faith. You have to build faith by stepping out on God for the little things so that you will have no doubt for the big things.  Listen to David making his case for why he could fight Goliath,

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”- I Samuel 17:33-37

They sent David out to watch over the sheep and this guy chases after a bear AND killed a lion– getting close enough to grab it by the beard.  [Let’s just pause and think on that for a minute! ] He took action on his faith that the Lord was with him. No wonder when it was time to stand up to Goliath he was emboldened and able to say, “He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Compared to the bear and the lion, Goliath probably looked like a walk in the park.  He prepared himself  in the wilderness for what was to come by stepping out on faith in his job as a shepherd. Thus, when a challenge with much higher stakes arose he was fearlessly able to step out with out hesitation.

That being said, if you do not prepare, you will not be ready. To use the exercise example again, they say it takes a  couple of weeks to get in shape. Yet, it only takes two or 3 days to begin getting out of shape (That would explain a lot).  If you don’t actively take steps to build your faith then your faith begins to wane.   Brothers, we cannot neglect this work. We must build our faith daily– a brick at a time if need be.

That being said there are no short cuts. We have to do the stuff.

Blessings,

MLStewman

Questions for consideration:

What are your reflections about the quote?

What are your thoughts about Hebrews 11:1?

What is your definition of faith?

What are you doing to actively build your faith?

What are some places you can begin to step out on faith?

As always, feel free to comment below and let the discussions begin!

 

• faith
• leap of faith