Stepping Out in Faith

A favorite scene in one of my favorite movies is when Indiana Jones must step out in faith to cross to the other side of a deep chasm. He repeats the mantra of what is expected then places his boot out into the vast unknown. Landing on a rock bridge he had not seen, he was able to go into the cave on the other side.

Yesterday was one of those days. Sometimes you find yourself making a choice beyond your ability to see the next step. I’m not sure why that should have surprised me. Believe it or not, choices like that are the rule of life for a believer, not the exception. We are required, as a product of faith, to live by faith. Faith is the action of trusting God.

Earlier that morning, during my quiet time, I read of Abraham taking Isaac up on Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Abraham didn’t know what would be there for him to step onto when he placed his sandal into the vast unknown, but he was determined to trust God was committed to His faithfulness. He knew God would provide even though he didn’t know what that provision would be.

Faith acts upon God’s faithfulness not ours. Having to see the rocks in the water before we step out of the boat, having to know what’s on the other side of the mountain before we climb, having to have our ducks in a row before we start the parade…lack the main ingredient of faith—trusting God for what we cannot see and places too much emphasis upon our wisdom over against God’s.

Faith often includes a struggle. Like the man who brought his son to Jesus for healing and said, “Lord, I believe. Help me with my unbelief.” Don’t think for a minute that Abraham whistled Oh Happy Day all the way up the mountain and was still whistling at the moment the angel stopped his hand. This was the biggest challenge of his life. Every fiber of what made him who he was was charged with the question: Could he trust God beyond his ability to see what God was going to do?

Abraham told Isaac God would provide. He didn’t know how, when or to what degree, only that God would provide. That was his hope.

Can you live with that hope? Regardless of how yesterday went? Can you trust God to make a way where there is no way, to make an invisible path visible as soon as your boot hits it, to produce a ram in the thicket at the perfect time?

As people of faith, we live by faith, not by sight. Probably one of the hardest things God ever asked us to do.