Stepping Out In Faith

Last month, I shared a post from Gary Wilkerson titled "Overcome Your Fear of Faith", in which he talked about his calling to plant a church in London. I want to share part 2 of his story. Remember that God has everything in control!

Gary Wilkerson -

"A short time ago I shared the first part of the story of when the Lord led my wife and me to London to plant a church. When we thought we might have to cancel our plans because we had nowhere to live, God miraculously provided a home through a businessman we met while on a missions trip to South Africa.

We had thought there was no hope, that we were not going to be able to make it and we would have to cancel our plans. But then we met this businessman. Only our God could orchestrate it so that a couple from New York would go to South Africa to find a place to live in London.

We moved to London and a few days after we arrived I took my son to a park near the house we were living in. As I pushed him on the swing set, I prayed, “Lord, You called us here to plant a church. Thank You for the house but I don’t know anybody here and I don’t know where to start the church.”

An older man walked up to the swings with his granddaughter. He turned to me, introduced himself, and asked me what I was doing in London.

“I’m a pastor,” I responded, “and we’re here to start a church.”

“I’m a pastor, too, and that’s my church,” he said, pointing to a beautiful, big church down the street named Holy Trinity Brompton.

I told him the story of Teen Challenge and Times Square Church and what we were now doing. The pastor invited me to his home later for tea and as we visited, he said, “I’ve been praying all afternoon and the Holy Spirit has put this strongly on my heart. We have a coffeehouse in an area where young people are into drugs and the party scene, and they are coming to Christ but there is no church. We have been praying that we could plant a church there but we have no pastor. Would you be willing to help us start this church? And would you be its pastor?”

I had been worried, but God had everything under control! The truth is, if we do not step out in faith, if we are not willing to risk, we will miss God’s best."

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/19714?src=devo-email

Trusting in God – Too Risky?

I have discovered that it is very easy for me to read books and get excited at the challenges the authors give me for living out my life wholly for Christ. And, it is easy for me to relay those messages to you through this blog. But truth is trusting anything or anyone, especially God, is incredibly risky. In fact, if there is no risk then it’s not really trusting, is it? It’s hard to trust God because he’s risky. You take the risk that he’s not real. But since he is real, you take the risk of him not hearing you, you take the risk of him saying “no”, you take the risk of him not feeling close, you take the risk of his discipline, you take  the risk of him not meeting whatever expectations you may have. You take the risk of going through some hard times for his glory. It is all of these risks that actually make trusting possible!

I know that I cannot simply say, “Trust in God.” Trusting in God is gained through daily devotion and dedication to him. You have to be intentional about trusting God. You have to risk something, some security, some comfort in order to trust in anything. Trusting God requires some sort of risk you are willing to take. You trust each day by facing those risks and making a choice each day to say, “Today, I am going to trust God in this situation.  I will pray in the midst of my pain. I will tell God I am scared and lonely, because that is honest and I know he hears me. I will believe that God is sovereign.”

For as long as I can remember now, I have worked hard to help provide financial stability for my family. My husband is self employed, so we have relied on my stable income as well as the health benefits it has provided. Together, we have pursued the many material possessions that we have wanted. I’m sure we are only half way through our list of many wants. We have been living the American dream. The thought of changing the comfortable life we have created for ourselves has never been considered…until now.

It’s nice being comfortable, but knowing what more I can be doing with my life for God has made me very uncomfortable. We have the means to make a change, but we have found every excuse not to. While I may not be ready to shout out to the world the changes we are considering, I will say that it is a risky move. There are times when I feel like I am having panic attacks over it, but there is always something that reminds me that God is in control. What excites me the most are the many possibilities that my family will have to further his kingdom.

God’s favor comes when we trust Him wholly, without reservations and doubts.  His rescue arrives when we stop doing our own ways. His blessings overflow when we put our full confidence in Him. It’s been a long time coming, but I am finally ready to start living out these words instead of just writing them. I am choosing to trust God in this situation! I pray that wherever you are in life, you will take the risk of trusting in him, too!

“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you” – Psalm 9:10

If You Believe...

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” - John 11:40

When Lazarus became sick, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus. But instead of coming right away, Jesus stayed where he was for two more days. During that time Lazarus died and was laid in the tomb for four days before Jesus came. Martha said to Jesus, “If you would have been here, my brother would not have died!” Her faith had a limit. She could not see beyond the grave! But Jesus did raise Lazarus from the dead in spite of her unbelief. He had delayed coming for one purpose, so that she and the others would believe and see the glory of God.

Why did God part the Red Sea? Why did Joshua and Israel march around Jericho? Why was Daniel thrown into the lion’s Den? For His glory!

We have been talking about overcoming our fear of faith and the mighty power of God. Whatever you are facing right now, He is going to bring forth life in that situation. And although it may seem like He is delaying His answer, He has a purpose – for you to believe and to see His glory.