Sunday, April 24, 2011

Risking It All for God

            A few months ago I felt led by God to give my 2-week notice at my job.  Since I did not have a job lined up to replace this job and other job opportunities were not panning out, I hesitated.  I began to doubt and question this leading, saying that it was not a wise decision and it just did not make sense that God would call me to do this. (I was not thinking of the Bible passage Proverbs 3:5, 6 where it tells us not to lean on our own understanding.)  As I continued to work at my job, this urging from God became clearer and more constant in my life.  I began to pray about it and read God’s Word, secretly hoping I could find a way out so I would not have to take this giant leap of faith. (I am known for playing it safe.)  Yet time and time again God presented me with evidence that He, in fact, had this planned for me to give my 2-weeks and trust Him with the results.  He reassured me with sermons, Bible verses, books on taking leaps of faith and trusting in His power, as well as words of encouragement from a few close believers.
            In regards to my job decision, the first Bible story that God brought me to was in Matthew 14:22-33.  This passage talks about how Peter was called by God to make a giant leap of faith by stepping out of his boat onto the water to follow Him.  If Peter had based his decision solely on his senses and his own understanding of the situation, he would have never stepped out of the boat and trusted God.  As a result, Peter would not have been able to be blessed from his obedience.  But most importantly, he would have missed an opportunity to witness God’s amazing power and continued faithfulness.  Just like Peter, if I had focused on the obstacles that were clearly evident rather than viewing my circumstance with eyes of faith, I would have missed out on the job that God had in store for me in which I hold as of this past Monday! :)
            The thing that convicted me most was the thought that I am a hypocrite if I say I have faith but don’t take steps of faith with confidence that He will provide.  I wrote this devotional in hopes that it encourages us all to take big risks for God.  Let us make a change and dare to fail for once.  Stop playing it safe.  The bigger the prayer, the greater the results!  Joshua 10 is a great example of this where he prays to God that He would make the sun stand still – and God did just that!  I pray this message gives you the confidence to pray bold prayers like Joshua and trust that when we obey God, He will not disappoint us.

God Bless!
<3 Shannon

“Ready Now” – Desperation Band

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