May 6, 2005

Step-by-Step

Have you ever noticed that God frequently leads us step-by-step, as 
apposed to laying out the whole plan before us at the beginning?  I don’t 
know about you, but when we plan a trip or vacation, I like to plan it.  
If we’re staying all night someplace, I want reservations.  I like to 
research what there is to do in a new place we’re visiting and then kind 
of plan the activities for each day accordingly.  None of these plans 
have to be set in concrete, because I enjoy the spontaneous and 
unplanned adventures along the way as well, but before we start I like to know 
where we’re going!

In the scriptures, sometimes God gives that kind of direction.  He told 
Moses to go to Pharaoh, lead His people out of Egypt and bring them to 
meet him on Mt. Sinai.  No motel reservations here, but a clear plan of 
activities and travel destination.  That’s my first choice of how God 
should lead and direct me!

But, more often than not He leads me like He did Abraham.  “Leave this 
place and go to a land I will show you.”  Oh dear, how do I research 
the activities available in “that” place if I don’t know where “that” 
place is until I get there?  How can I plan each day?  Therein lies my 
dilemma.

It always comes back to “walking by faith and not by sight.”  It’s a 
very good thing when we can see where God is leading and then we 
obediently follow Him there.  But the real victory in our Christian walk is 
when we go where He leads us and we don’t know the way!  On that journey 
each step is scary, each blind corner is overwhelming and each success 
is miraculous!  Which journey, the one by sight or the one by faith do 
we praise God for the most, testify to at every opportunity and see it 
grow our faith, love and devotion to the Great I Am?  That’s an easy 
quiz.  Of course that walk of faith is always the one that grows us and 
honors the Lord.

So my question is, why do we shy away from those calls of God that lead 
us on untraveled paths to places we’ve never been?  Since the rewards 
are so glorious, you would think we would be lined up begging God for 
more journeys of faith.  But in reality every time one comes along we 
find ourselves perhaps bargaining with God for a change in plan, or may 
even try to talk Him out of it.  We rarely seem to want to jump right out 
into a leap of faith.

With the new season of spring upon us, I want to commit myself to being 
more open and available to “spring” into those journeys of faith God 
has waiting for me.  He always wants to take me to new places in Him and 
I want to go!  Want to join me?  

Until next time … love and prayers, 

RuthAnn Gleason, the Parson's Wife
ragleason@sbcglobal.net