“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 – New Living Translation)
Waiting. It’s something we’re all so used to in our daily lives. We wait in line at the grocery store. We wait for our food to be served at a restaurant. We endure those seemingly endless waits while we’re ‘on hold’ for customer service.
Sometimes we wait nervously for test results or an important phone call. And while there’s nothing wrong with waiting per se, often when it comes to our relationship with God, we can find ourselves stuck in a holding pattern of sorts, waiting for Him to move with no sign of anything happening.
Many times in life I’ve found myself waiting for some kind of miracle provision or breakthrough, only to feel like God is not doing anything to make it happen. Can you relate?
Are you waiting for God to move? Waiting for a sign? Waiting for some kind of miracle provision or breakthrough? Waiting for Him to direct you?
Let me challenge you with something: What if God is actually waiting on you? What if the thing you’ve been waiting for is dependent on you taking that first step of faith?
What if the problem isn’t that GOD isn’t moving, but that YOU are not?
Now before you write me off as some kind of heretic, hear me out. 🙂
While it’s true that God is sovereign and He can do whatever He wants, oftentimes He waits for us to step out in faith and act on His Word before He meets us there with the miraculous.
For example, Abraham is considered one of the great heroes of faith in the Bible, yet even he had to take a step of faith before God did anything miraculous. The scripture tells us that “it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would show him”.
God didn’t show Abraham where he was going, He just told him to go. And yet Abraham obeyed and went anyway.
We see this example time and again throughout scripture – from Noah building the ark, and Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, to Joshua being tasked with taking down the walls of Jericho.
In each instance, God gave His people a promise or a prophetic word, but it wasn’t until they took that first step of faith that He began to move in a miraculous way. He didn’t always give them a detailed map or plan of what lay ahead. He simply asked them to trust Him and move forward with what they had.
So How Can We Move Forward?
The same is true for us today as it was then for the heroes of the faith. Often God may just give us one word and then wait to see what we will do with it. If we sit on that word and do nothing, we may never see the fulfillment of it.
But if we take a step of faith and act on that word, even if we don’t know what the outcome will be, God will honor our obedience and begin to move in ways we could never have imagined – just like He did in some of our favorite bible stories.
When it comes to living full of purpose and desiring to be in the center of His will, sometimes we can be guilty of spending our lives waiting and wondering what God has for us – when He has already given us instructions on how to move forward in His Word…
In Galatians 6:4-5, Paul writes: “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.” (The Message Bible)
Waiting on God doesn’t mean sitting idly by while we expect Him to do everything. It’s an active process of living the life He has called us to and being obedient to His Word. It’s about taking responsibility for our own lives and doing the best we can with what we’ve been given.
Take Action
If you’re feeling stuck and not sure what your next steps should be, here are a few things you can do:
- Pray and ask God to reveal His will for your life.
- Read your Bible and meditate on scripture. What is God saying to you in His Word?
- Take some time to journal your thoughts and ask God to help you understand what He is saying.
- Make a list of the things you’re passionate about and the gifts and talents God has given you. How can you use those things to glorify Him?
Without a doubt, waiting is a part of faith, but it’s not the only part. So if you’re feeling like you’re stuck in a season of waiting, I encourage you to ask God to reveal what the next step is that He wants you to take.
And then have the faith to take it – even if you don’t know where it’s going to lead. For sure, it may feel scary, but remember – God is always with us, and He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:16).
So even when we can’t see the end result, we can trust that He is leading us and will see us through. And who knows? The miracle you’ve been waiting for may be right on the other side of your obedience.
Points for Reflection
- What is one thing you feel God has been asking you to do?
- Have you taken a step of faith in obedience to what He has asked, even if you don’t know what the outcome will be?
- What are some of your favorite bible stories where someone took a step of faith and saw God move in a miraculous way?
- How can you be more obedient in taking responsibility for your own life and doing the best you can with what you’ve been given?
- Are you willing to take the next step, even if you don’t know where it’s going to lead? Why or why not?
- What is one thing you can do today to take a step of faith in obedience to God?
Prayer
Dear Lord, I thank You that You are a good and loving Father who is always with us and never leaves us or forsakes us. I know that You have a plan and a purpose for my life, and I want to be in the center of Your will. I want to be obedient to all you have called me to do.
So, today I pray that You would reveal to me what the next step is that you want me to take. I ask for the faith to step out and act on your Word, even when I don’t know where it’s going to lead. Thank You that I can trust You to always lead and guide me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Vicky Hughes is a writer, speaker, dream catalyst & coach. A passionate, purpose-driven, Kingdom entrepreneur at heart, she is CEO and founder of ‘Company of Dreamers’; a global movement empowering and equipping Christian women to discover their God-sized dreams and see them become a reality.
