Are you hoping to be bold and confident in following God’s path for you this year?
That’s not always easy to do. Thankfully, He doesn’t expect us to grow all at once—it’s a process that He leads us through each day. And as we see that God has led us faithfully, we begin to trust Him more and more.
Consider these encouraging words from Dr. Stanley:
Are you walking by faith? Or by sight?
You can live according to the plan of God, or you can muddle along, hoping things will work out.
I know from experience that it can be agonizing to take a step of faith when you don’t understand what God is doing.
I remember a time when I felt the Lord wanted me to leave one church and go to another. The idea didn’t make sense to me. I’d only been at that church for 11 months. How could I pack up and leave? But as God began to shut down my objections, I began to trust Him, and finally I surrendered to His leading. That was the calling that brought me to Atlanta.
Abraham is one of our greatest biblical examples of following the Lord when the path is unclear. He was called to leave his country and relatives. God’s instructions to Abraham must have seemed extremely unreasonable:
“Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3).
How Abraham responded in Genesis 12:4-7 demonstrates how we, too, can walk by faith rather than by sight.
The first step in walking by faith is listening to God.
Despite the demanding nature of this message, Abraham listened to the Lord and accepted His words.
Though that was thousands of years ago, the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts today according to Jesus’ promise. God will make His will clear to us, just as He did for Abraham. This is why we should seek His guidance daily.
Next, we must trust and obey what God says.
The proof of Abraham’s faith is seen in his obedience (Gen. 12:4-5). Despite the lack of details, Abraham stepped out in faith, left his home, and trusted the Father to lead him to an unknown land and fulfill all the promises He’d given Him.
It’s difficult to trust the Lord when He takes us in an unexpected direction and doesn’t explain what awaits us. Our willingness to follow His direction reveals much about our spiritual growth and commitment to Him.
There is another critical step in walking by faith—worship.
After arriving in Canaan, Abraham built an altar and worshipped and thanked the Lord. He’d experienced God’s faithfulness in bringing him this far and knew the Lord would be faithful to His word. (Gen. 12:7).
Abraham wasn’t perfect; he made mistakes and so do we, pretty serious ones at times. Think about some of the poor choices Abraham made. God didn’t stop blessing him or cast him aside. He knows what His children will do. He understands that we experience weakness and failure, and He forgives us and keeps us moving.
You may think the will of God is unclear for your life. But I can tell you what it is: Do the next thing He tells you to do. He’s already prepared the way.
Each time you trust God and step out in obedience, you’ll see His faithfulness and have reason to praise and thank Him. The walk of faith is one of listening, trusting, obeying, and worshipping God.
The result is life at its best—not without problems and struggle, but a life lived in the will of God.
Dr. Stanley brings to mind something powerful. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul called God “Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).
That’s what God did for Abraham, and this promise holds true for us, also. As we follow Him, He’ll lead us step by step into an extraordinary future. May this be your year of walking a path of great faith.
Till next time, God bless you.
For His glory,
Your friends at In Touch Ministries