...........
We were talking about faith in our community group last night and it got me thinking about what I've learned through my journey in faith.
When I look back on my life, I see that my faith has grown through the little stepping stones of obedience that I've taken. The more that I learn to trust in God, it seems that it gets both easier and harder. Easier in the sense that I know He's never let me down so I don't really have a reason NOT to trust him. Harder in the sense that I've seen a progression, and as I've learned to put more of my trust and faith in God even greater faith has been expected of me.
I think back to our move to Madison. It took a lot of faith for Steve and I to uproot ourselves, sell our house and move to a new city where we knew absolutely no one and had no jobs. Everyone knows our story. I moved here by myself to look for a job thinking it wouldn't be that difficult while Steve stayed back in St. Louis. Almost 3 months passed before I finally found a job here and Steve was able to quit his job and join me. What a long few months those were, but my faith was tested in ways it never had been before. Fast forward to Steve joining me here in Madison, when it took him 9 long months to find work. Believe me when I say our trust was in God and God alone through that season. Days (literally) after Steve got hired we decided it was time to start a family.
Faith with that decision comes into play here - had we not had the previous year of testing as our faith was strengthened through having to really trust in God with our situation, I really don't think Asher would be in the picture today. It was growing in our faith and trust in God that brought us to the point of knowing that it was okay to start a family because we knew that we would be taken care of.
Just the other day Steve and I were talking about our old life. When I asked him if he thought we would have started a family yet if we were still living in St. Louis he said no. Although we were making a whole lot more money there, we hadn't walked through some of the trials that had come about through uprooting our lives here to Madison and I really don't think we would have had the faith to step out and trust God to bring a baby into the picture. I'm just being real, no, I'm not a perfect Christian that always has "the faith to move mountains."
Now, I look back on our journey of faith. It started with trusting God with the little things and now has grown to the point where really I'm not that concerned about our lives because I really do trust God to take care of us. I see the journey from taking that giant leap of faith to uproot our lives and all that I've learned throughout the very detailed process and just how faithful God has been to us. Quitting my job to stay home with Asher has been another huge leap of faith for us, but again, God has been faithful.
John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard churches, said it well when he said "faith" is spelled R-I-S-K. It really is - taking risks for God is what has strengthened my faith over the years. I don't know what's in the future for us, but I can guarantee that there will be a lot of risk-taking. The kind that in 10 years will cause me to look back on this season of life, and all of the trusting and faith building that I've done in the last 2 years will seem like a breeze compared to the giant mountain that will be ahead of me.....and that's when grace comes into play. :)
I'm excited to be risk taker for Jesus - scared, but excited. I want my faith to increase, and I know that the only way that will happen is through walking through the challenges of life, and that's something that I'm learning to embrace.
When I look back on my life, I see that my faith has grown through the little stepping stones of obedience that I've taken. The more that I learn to trust in God, it seems that it gets both easier and harder. Easier in the sense that I know He's never let me down so I don't really have a reason NOT to trust him. Harder in the sense that I've seen a progression, and as I've learned to put more of my trust and faith in God even greater faith has been expected of me.
I think back to our move to Madison. It took a lot of faith for Steve and I to uproot ourselves, sell our house and move to a new city where we knew absolutely no one and had no jobs. Everyone knows our story. I moved here by myself to look for a job thinking it wouldn't be that difficult while Steve stayed back in St. Louis. Almost 3 months passed before I finally found a job here and Steve was able to quit his job and join me. What a long few months those were, but my faith was tested in ways it never had been before. Fast forward to Steve joining me here in Madison, when it took him 9 long months to find work. Believe me when I say our trust was in God and God alone through that season. Days (literally) after Steve got hired we decided it was time to start a family.
Faith with that decision comes into play here - had we not had the previous year of testing as our faith was strengthened through having to really trust in God with our situation, I really don't think Asher would be in the picture today. It was growing in our faith and trust in God that brought us to the point of knowing that it was okay to start a family because we knew that we would be taken care of.
Just the other day Steve and I were talking about our old life. When I asked him if he thought we would have started a family yet if we were still living in St. Louis he said no. Although we were making a whole lot more money there, we hadn't walked through some of the trials that had come about through uprooting our lives here to Madison and I really don't think we would have had the faith to step out and trust God to bring a baby into the picture. I'm just being real, no, I'm not a perfect Christian that always has "the faith to move mountains."
Now, I look back on our journey of faith. It started with trusting God with the little things and now has grown to the point where really I'm not that concerned about our lives because I really do trust God to take care of us. I see the journey from taking that giant leap of faith to uproot our lives and all that I've learned throughout the very detailed process and just how faithful God has been to us. Quitting my job to stay home with Asher has been another huge leap of faith for us, but again, God has been faithful.
John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard churches, said it well when he said "faith" is spelled R-I-S-K. It really is - taking risks for God is what has strengthened my faith over the years. I don't know what's in the future for us, but I can guarantee that there will be a lot of risk-taking. The kind that in 10 years will cause me to look back on this season of life, and all of the trusting and faith building that I've done in the last 2 years will seem like a breeze compared to the giant mountain that will be ahead of me.....and that's when grace comes into play. :)
I'm excited to be risk taker for Jesus - scared, but excited. I want my faith to increase, and I know that the only way that will happen is through walking through the challenges of life, and that's something that I'm learning to embrace.
Labels: church planting, growing, lessons, pog
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