Steps...

In my last post, I wrote about Abraham's obedience to God when He asked for Isaac, His son. God asked something wildly sacrificial of Abraham and without hesitation Abraham complied.

Abraham went as far as to secure his son, Isaac, to the altar as God had commanded, but God provided a way out! God indeed provided another way but not until Abraham showed his full commitment to the request of God, not until Abraham took the steps towards obedience. That's where I'm going with this one!

In the last writing, I also referenced many promises of God. He promises to be with us. (Isaiah 43:1-2). He promises to strengthen us. (Isaiah 41:10) As we fix our eyes on Him, He promises to keep us in perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3). He promises to go ahead of us and never abandon us. (Deuteronomy 31:8) He promises to fight for us. (Exodus 14:14)

All of these promises are available to us, but oftentimes action is required on our part in order to fully reap the benefits of the promise. Sometimes we must take a step in faith towards our promise just as Abraham did.

Another Biblical example is the drying up of the Jordan River. The Israelites were being led by Joshua into the promised land after 40 years of wandering. They needed to cross the Jordan River but it was at flood stage making it impossible to cross. God gave direction for the Israelites to follow the priests carrying the ark of the covenant. When the priests reached the edge of the Jordan's waters, they were to go and stand in it. (Joshua 3:8)

"Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing..."

"The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." -Joshua 3:15-17 (NIV)

Not only did God provide a way through their obstacle but he provided abundantly! He provided them safe passage on dry ground and did so long enough for the entire nation to cross. This promise was not fulfilled until the priests' feet touched the water, which surely took great faith.

Where we live, there are a few rivers. The last thing I want to do at flood stage is step out into one of them!

While my heart was trying to find its way back to my marriage, I had to take many steps of obedience. Some, quite frankly, I didn't want to take! I can't say that I was immediately obedient as Abraham or the priests were. In fact, I can remember a time when I was directly defiant. I was vacuuming in my bedroom one day and I felt God telling me that if I didn't stop and turn away, I was going to get really hurt! Man,was He right!! I've never, in my life, felt so much pain! Not only was it excruciatingly painful, but I feel as if my continued defiance and disobedience prolonged the suffering.

Still, God was so gracious to me. He didn't discard me in my defiance. He continued to speak gently to my heart and to my soul. He gave me baby steps of obedience to take. He would ask me to do little things along the way that would later add up to much bigger things. He multiplied my small efforts. He is the God of multiplicity!

I don't know what your situation is or what you are facing, but God does! He sees all parts, all parties, and all hearts that are involved. You can trust Him to guide you in the direction that you need to go. Trust Him, even when it doesn't make sense. Trust Him in the miniscule things.

If you need to delete, turn away, reach out, apologize, give a hug, make the call, send the text...in the words of Nike... Just Do It! Take the small steps of obedience that God is asking you to take. You never know what those small steps could mean for the future of your situation. Those small steps may lead you to a breakthrough and abundant blessings!

-Until next time...

"But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won't draw attention to Himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen..." -John 16:13 (MSG)