I said goodbye to a friend today. She is on her way to New York City with the hope of someday becoming a successful actress on Broadway. Some may scoff at such a dream. Dozens, if not hundreds, of people do the very same thing each year and fail. Why would she be any different? She may not be. That’s the key. There is no guarantee that she will meet the right people or get her headshot into the hands of the right directors. And yet, she feels strongly that God has given her talent and a passion for acting and she believes she can be a light for Him in a very dark place. So as I type, she drives north toward her future. I couldn’t be more excited for her or more proud of her.

Photo Credit: dcubillas

Some would call her actions a “leap of faith.”

But God doesn’t talk about leaps of faith in Scripture. He does, however, talk a lot about steps. Peter had to step out onto the waves. The priests in the Old Testament had to step into the rushing river. Proverbs tells us that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. The thing about faith that is so scary is that we don’t know where those steps are going to take us.

God doesn’t give us a manual for life that we can follow point by point. He gives us just enough for the next step and asks us to trust Him for the one after that and the one after that. This sounds simple enough. We know that God is a good God and He desires the best for us. So why then is it so hard to trust Him? I think it is because He doesn’t have our whole hearts.

As you are getting to know a new person, you are continually evaluating whether or not you can trust them. You share a personal detail here and there and see if they keep it to themselves. You have a secret dream and you share a little to see how they handle that precious information. We do the same thing with God. Instead of believing that He is trustworthy and interpreting our circumstances through the lens of that truth, we have it backwards. We pray for something and see if He comes through like we want Him to. We ask Him to fulfill our dreams without considering what He might have for us and then get disappointed when it doesn’t happen.

While it is important to ensure that sinful people are careful with our trust, we don’t need to worry about how God is going to handle our hearts. He has promised that if we give everything to Him, He will give to us His desires, fulfill those desires, and grant us peace and contentment that we can’t even imagine.

The key is in the letting go.

As Bilbo Baggins says,

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” (J.R.R Tolkien Quotes)

There’s no telling where my friend might end up someday or where you and I will be a year from now. Just as Frodo didn’t realize the danger and struggle he faced as he stepped out on his grand adventure. But we have an advantage that Frodo didn’t have. We have the God that has orchestrated all things from before the beginning of time lighting our paths. Won’t you trust Him?

Do you have a grand adventure you feel God is calling you to, but you’ve been too afraid to take the next step? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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