I don’t know about you, but I LOVE summer and I cherish each day of June through August. I’m wondering what happened to July? For some of you, school starts in August, but for many of us there’s one more month before fall arrives and the household gets back to a routine as those lazy days of summer come to an end.
As we move towards the fall, some of you may be contemplating new adventures perhaps starting or restarting your mentoring ministry or another ministry or area of service. Maybe going back to school or getting married! Changing jobs, starting a business, running for a local political office, moving…. Fall often signifies change.
You’ve had an idea for a long time of something you would really like to do. It tugs at the back of your mind in quiet moments when you’re driving, jogging, cooking, walking, gardening, or waking up in the morning. But there’s an obstacle stopping you: You’re not sure if this is something God wants you to do. How can you know without a doubt that God will be on this big adventure with you? It’s a huge leap of faith and you don’t want to go it alone without Him.
Looking back, I see the Lord took me through the following ten steps to guide me into the biggest leap of faith I’ve ever taken in my life. I trust that these steps will help you too as you contemplate acting on your idea that seems like such a stretch and yet you can’t shake the idea. Or maybe you feel God’s been calling you to do something, but it seems impossible.
Sometimes fear stops us from proceeding. Fear that we won’t know what to do, or maybe fear of failure. But God says over 200 times in the Bible “Fear not.”
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
If God gave you the call, He will guide you. He will always show up. You won’t be on your own. Here are ten steps to help you determine if it’s God’s will for you, or simply your own idea.
Step 1: Pray
Ask God to, “Show me Your ways, Lord; Teach me Your paths” (Ps. 25:4).
When we read the stories of some of the great men in the Bible like Abraham, Moses, and David, we see that when they prayed and asked God what they should do and followed his direction, they were always successful. But it was a disaster when they took off on their own.
Step 2: Listen
Often, we lay our requests before the Lord in prayer and then move on without waiting for God’s answer. Sometimes He answers right away and other times He wants us to wait patiently on His timing. So we keep praying, listening, asking, and listening until we feel His nudge to take the next step, or not.
Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. Pr. 1:5
Step 3: Study God’s Word, the Bible
God will speak to you through your Bible reading. Scriptures you’ve read many times will now have new meaning as you apply them to the venture you’re considering.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Ps. 119:105
Step 4: Research
Read books, blogs, and articles. What do others have to say about what you’re planning? Seek wise counsel. Talk to a wide range of people and ask questions. Resist only consulting people who will tell you what you want to hear or agree with you. If you’re confused, run everything you read and hear through the balanced grid of what agrees with God’s character and God’s commands in the Bible.
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Pr. 15:22 NLT
Step 5: Look for Confirmation
The more you pray, listen, read your Bible, and do research, the more you will hear the subject of your leap of faith everywhere you go: sermons, songs, conversations, blogs, social media, even TV programs and movies. Suddenly, it seems like everyone is talking about what you’re considering. If this is God’s will for you, doors will open and then you have a big decision: whether to walk through them. In my experience, when you do, He keeps opening new ones.
Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, god, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name . . . That I’ve singled you out, called you by name, and given you this privileged work. Isa. 45:3-4 The Message
Step 6: Maintain a Support System
Be brave and share your big idea with trusted friends, family, small group, Bible study, and prayer partners. The more you talk about it, the more real it becomes. But beware—there’s going to be naysayers. Consider if there’s any validity in their comments, but also look for hidden motives to their negativity. Are they trying to protect or prohibit you from moving forward?
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Ecc. 4:9-10
Step 7: Consider the Sacrifice
Adding something new to an already full life, always leads to feeling overwhelmed, maybe even doubting if this is was what God wants you to do. So think and pray about what you’ll give up to take this new leap of faith?
Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. Phil. 2:15-18
Step 8: What Is Your Goal?
What do you hope to achieve? When or how will you know if you’ve achieved it? Will it be ongoing and change your or someone else’s life forever? Are you willing to change your goal or plans to achieve God’s goal for you?
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:12, 14
Step 9: What’s Your Motive?
Are you taking this leap of faith strictly for your own benefit or for God’s glory? It can be both, but always be sure your actions are pleasing to God. When you give of yourself in any capacity for God’s glory, the kingdom of God grows!
As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. 2 Cor. 9:13 NLT
Step 10: Are You Willing to Persevere?
Is your venture worth persevering even when it gets hard to keep moving forward? Even when there’s obstacles? Even when you don’t see results or see the end in sight?
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thess. 3:5
I took these ten steps twenty-seven years ago when God called me to start the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry, a biblically based ministry still active today. Initially, I didn't like it that God’s plan was different from mine. But it was clear as I took each step that starting Woman to Woman Mentoring, and later writing a Leader’s Kit to help other churches start a mentoring ministry, was God’s leap of faith for me. I had no idea that God’s plan was so much bigger than mine was as He took Woman to Woman Mentoring around the world.
Where is God asking you to bravely step up and courageously step out in faith? This could be the great adventure for which you were created. Wherever God leads, He will be in it with you. He will never direct you to go where He won’t be right beside you. It’s been true for me and I know it will be true for you as you take your God-guided leap of faith.
For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor. 5:7
About His Work with You,
Janet
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