Faith
“The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some pre-determined, clearly delineated plan for the future. The next step discloses itself only out of discernment of God acting in…the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered his presence and his promise.” (Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust, pg. 13)
I actually came across this quote in Pete Greig’s book God On Mute a few weeks ago, and have been chewing on it ever since. I didn’t catch it the first few times I reat the book, so maybe my own personal dealings as of late had something to do with me noticing it. As a matter of fact, I never noticed it when reading Mr. Manning’s book either. Hm. God’s timing is perfect…………………
Anywho, recently my wife and I felt directed by God to move on from our current ministry. It was a process that took many years to bring us to that point, but we finally BOTH felt God saying now is the time, MOVE! To where, we still haven’t seen. We are trying desperately to walk with God “in….the present moment”. I’m not really sure people grasp how difficult this is until they are actually in it.
I’ve always thought I lived life like I had faith in God. Well let me tell you, stepping away from ministry when you have nothing lined up to step into…………..that’s a whole new level of faith in God! I’ve got a little over 2 weeks left, and still no definite leads for jobs. Some might call this reckless. Others might brand us as naive, silly, stupid even for pulling such a stunt. All I know is that I’m trusting and leaning into God like never before. My life literally depends on it!
Sometimes I think Faith is branded as this nice, cupcake like dessert that we get to experience as Christians, when, in fact it can be quite different. Faith is messy. It’s difficult. It doesn’t always go down so nicely. But in the end, it’s always, ALWAYS worth trying. We are always better off going the route of faith. Just don’t think it’s going to be this nice flat path with plush green moss underfoot. No, the road of faith can be quite treacherous, scary, and even seem risky. But the experience of faith is so rewarding. And that’s where I currently find myself.