Does taking a step of faith have to be scary?

BY: Matthew Watts

leio-mclaren

What do you think of when you hear the phrase “step of faith”?

Maybe you imagine talking with a colleague or friend about Jesus for the first time. Perhaps you think about having to relocate your family to a new city because God tells you to. Or perhaps you think of making a significant financial sacrifice in order to invest in a ministry.

Whatever you’re picturing, the chances are it feels like the spiritual equivalent of rappelling. You know there’s someone at the top carefully watching your every move, and yet you still see the potential for disaster.

When we think about our personal ministry to friends, family, colleagues or classmates, our steps of faith are usually associated with crossing a major threshold in the relationship. The unknown variable is how your step of faith will change the relational dynamic.

But what if there are also less dramatic but equally important ways we can respond to the invitations God gives us in our daily lives?

What if God wants us to also take steps of faith that do not seem so terrifying?

This step of faith sounds too simple

A conversation at work with a friend who had recently downloaded MissionHub got me thinking.

“These steps of faith in MissionHub feel pretty simple,” Ann said.

“Yeah, I think that’s the idea,” I replied. “Being intentional toward others does not have to be hard.”

“I always thought a step of faith had to be something scary,” Ann said. “Like a big risk. Something I really do not want to do but have to trust God with.”

“We tend to think about it that way, but I’m not sure it has to be like that,” I replied.

“It’s just that these steps feel like things I already do. They’re more like faithfulness steps,” Ann said. “But I think MissionHub can help me be more intentional about doing them.”

“Faithfulness stuff rather than just scary stuff,” I said. “I like how you put that.”

Steps of faith come in all shapes and sizes

That brief conversation sparked a change in how I think about taking a step of faith.

Subconsciously I believed a step of faith had to be some epic challenge — climb Everest, run a marathon, or fast for 40 days in the wilderness. Thanks, but no thanks.

Do not get me wrong. Throughout the Bible we see God inviting people to trust him in extreme ways. If you want a list, just read chapter 11 of Hebrews. But unless we think like Ann, we risk missing opportunities to see God at work and know we’re a part of it.

If we treat daily faithfulness toward others with the same focus and sense of purpose, we’ll see God working a lot more, and we will see our part in it.

If you want to see what I mean, try this simple practice:

  • Think about something you’ve been doing regularly for someone.
  • Take a second and thank God for that opportunity.
  • Finally, be sure to recognize how God is using that opportunity to grow you as well as to reach out to that person.

If you’re like Ann, and tend to overlook your own faithfulness steps, MissionHub can help.

We’ll remind you about the people who are important to you, so you do not miss those special moments with them. You can download MissionHub for Apple and Android or learn a little more about how it all works.

Photo by Leio McLaren

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MORE ABOUT Matthew Watts

Matt finds it hard to talk with others, one hurdle he’s hoping MissionHub gets him over. He somehow managed to find enough courage to talk to Kate, and now they’ve been married 20 years. They have four kids between the ages of a driver’s permit and crawling.