What does it mean to take a “Leap of Faith”? To me, it doesn’t mean leaping into something blindly, like some may say people leap into a religion following blindly. That is a different topic for a different time. However, I was thinking today about how sometimes in life you have to take a leap of faith. It’s almost inevitable. You don’t always know what is going to happen next to you in life, and we should never pretend that we have all of the answers worked out for ourselves. While I do believe we have all the answers and guidance that we need in our life within the Bible, that doesn’t mean that we are never wondering what our next move should be. The Bible never tells us what every step of the way will include. We just know that God has told us we are not the ones in control and we are not the ones who should guide our own paths.
O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. – Jeremiah 10:23
Sometimes, we have to take a leap of faith. I say that meaning we sometimes have to just leap out and trust that God is there to catch us! Do I believe that God will always be there? Absolutely! He has promised that He will take care of us in Matthew 6:33, providing that we always look to Him first and seek first the kingdom! I know I have mentioned that verse before, and I know I have said that it is one of my favorite verses – I believe it must be my very favorite for it is one that gives me such strength and such hope. I admit that I have been feeling very hopeless lately, not knowing what the future holds for us, and yet – God has promised to be there no matter what! That is not hopeless at all! That is the complete opposite! That is full of hope! Hopeful! And that is comforting!
Many of you probably know this already, but after a lot of consideration and prayer, Carl and I have decided that we are going to hold off on looking for another preaching job. He has recently been hired to work for a company very close by and we have decided to settle down here for the time being. I know that there are a lot of people out there who might be disappointed in this decision, maybe even angered or upset. If you feel any of those, I really am sorry you do feel that way. I would like to express to you wholeheartedly that this doesn’t mean that we will never get back into the preaching life again – on the flip side, it also doesn’t mean that we will – we just don’t know right now! However, I want to really stress to you all that we are not giving up.
There is a dire need for faithful gospel preachers today. I completely agree. However, there is also a dire need for faithful, active members! Deciding to be a “regular” member (I hate using that but it’s the only way I can think to say what I mean right now – you all know what I mean) doesn’t mean we’re deciding not to spread the gospel to the lost. There is so much good that we can do even without being a preacher or a preacher’s wife. There are so many opportunities out there that we can now take without being the preacher and the preacher’s wife!
All in all, we only wish to be pleasing to God. You do not have to be a preacher or a preacher’s wife to be pleasing to God. We aren’t giving up. We aren’t throwing in the towel. We aren’t discouraged or angry or sorrowful.
However, we are trusting God. We are praying about this. We are excited about all of the possibilities out there for us. We’re ready to leap.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. – Ecclesiastes 12:13
