Step Out In Faith

Have you ever wondered why something is taking so long? Doesn’t everyone appreciate the satisfaction of a job well done?

When you bake cookies, it is so rewarding. I get the ingredients, mix everything, scoop out cookie batter onto baking trays and bake them in the oven. The results of my efforts are right there, the delicious aroma of just baked, warm cookies. I even get positive recognition, as my kids wait with big eyes and plates in hand to get a cookie and say how these are the best cookies ever.  

Then there are other things, when slow and steady win the race. I started exercising two months ago on a regular basis. I can move better, I have more energy, and I feel so much better. Do I see the results? Maybe a little bit? My son says that I look skinnier. I am not thin at all, so he is being kind. The trainer at the gym says that I am doing amazing. But, I haven’t magically shape shifted into my ideal body. 

This morning, I was thinking about the process of getting into shape, from being, let’s be honest, completely out of shape. It is a process. It is messy. It requires sore muscles. It is emotional. I felt awesome, when I could do a full plank and push-up correctly. I feel intimidated, when I see the other mamas, jumping over the bars and doing pull-ups like rock stars. Sometimes, I come home and cry, because in my mid 40s, my body has never done these things before. It is hard. 

Sometimes, God makes us go through difficulties to bring us through to something better.  Through the process, God refines us. God can also use this process to touch others. I was thinking that this process of getting into shape, can also be used to get parts of me spiritually aligned with God too. I am made in God’s image, that includes everything about me. My heart, my mind and physical appearance are connected and perfectly woven together by God. 

Snow falls from heaven to water the earth to make flowers bud and bloom to give seeds to nurture and sow that provides bread to eat.

When God speaks, his words do not return void. God’s speaks words into life. God’s words accomplish what he pleases. When God speaks, his words prosper for the thing in which he sent it. 

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
—Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV

God leads us and guides us. We don’t always understand the path or journey, but if we go in faith, God’s goodness will be done. God comes all the way through. God doesn’t make mistakes. God doesn’t forget details. If it is not easy, there is a reason. God is refining us. Through the process, God will make us stronger mentally and sometimes physically. 

If you are going through something that is not easy, know that God is using it to create something better in your life. God has a plan for your life. Every step that you make in faith helps accomplish his plan. On those days when you think you can’t do it, step forward in faith, knowing that God is carrying you through it for his good purpose. Step out in faith.