Have you ever noticed that faith and familiarity don’t walk the same road?

There is a difference between walking by faith…
and walking by what’s familiar.

If I’m honest with you, the times in my life that I’ve been the most stuck haven’t been because I didn’t love God.

I got stuck because I loved what I knew.

In many ways, this is simple human nature. 

We love what’s predictable.
We love what feels controllable.
We love what feels safe.

But the problem with that is that God is rarely the God of the familiar. 

Rather, He is the God of the impossible.
The God of the unknown.
The God of the step you don’t want to take.
The God who calls you out of comfort and into consecration.

Scripture says:

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:7

Sight often says, “Stay.”
But faith says, “Move.”

Sight often says, “What if you fail?”
But faith says, “What if God is in it?”

Sight often says, “Wait until you have more information.”
Faith says, “Obey what God already told you.”

WHEWWWWWWW.

God Will Not Always Explain Himself

One of the hardest realities of walking with God is realizing He often gives direction without giving details.

Look at Abraham.

God didn’t sit Abraham down and say,
“Here’s the five-year plan.”

God simply said:

“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”
— Genesis 12:1

Can you imagine how difficult this must have been?

The instruction was multifaceted. Abraham was to go:

1. From his country (ie: His familiarity and comfort)  

2. From his people (ie: His culture, those that thought like and behaved like him) 

and 

3. His father’s household (His literal family)

And then, after he abandoned every source of earthly comfort, God wanted him to then go to the land God would show him.

Meaning: “Start walking, and I’ll start revealing.”

Like, What?!

And yet…

God Often Only Reveals the Very Next Step

Many times, God only reveals the immediate next step and that’s it. 

He rarely shows the whole path. 

Psalm 119: 105 says:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

A lamp does not shine a mile down the road.

A lamp shines just enough for your next step.

Granted, the fact that His Word also is a light to our path means that as we submit to the Lordship of Christ in our lives, eventually the path does light up, too. 

But it takes faith to get there. It takes intentionality. It takes a stubborn commitment to following Christ, even when it feels scary. 

Despite how counterintuitive this feels to our mortal minds, this is how God intentionally helps us build faith brick by brick.

___________________________________________________________________

God Will Give You The Strength

And so, I want to encourage you. 

If God is asking you to step out, pray He will give you the strength to do so. 

Because oftentimes if God is calling you out of your familiar, He is doing so in His mercy in order to disrupt what you’re clinging to. 

Not because He is cruel…
but because He is committed to your calling.

So walk.

Even if your knees shake.
Even if your mind is racing.
Even if the future feels unclear.

Because you are not walking alone.

Til Next Time, 

Liz

P.S. If you are struggling to take that next step in faith, email me, friend. I would love to pray for you by name. Just hit reply to this email.

P.S.S. Would you also pray for our family? As you know, I’m praying heavily that the Lord would do the impossible and help me secure a book contract. But also, my husband is at a crossroads in his career as well. Both of us are standing at the precipice of a faith cliff, jumping, praying the Lord will catch us. 

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