http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Heb%2011:1&version=NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201:17&version=NIV
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Chinese proverb
Abraham. After the earlier accounts of Adam & Eve and Noah, he bursts on to the scene at the end of Genesis 11. The first thing we learn about Abraham is that he is about to take a journey. God speaks to Abraham and directs him to leave his native Ur of the Chaldees and go west - to some unknown land that He would show him. The incredible thing is that Abraham obeyed! He left behind his home. His relatives. His native city. Everything that he had ever known. To take a journey to realms unknown. Certainly this was a huge risk on his part. He was, in effect, going away from civilization - to some foreign, sparsely-populated, uncivilized place. So Abraham stepped out in faith and, following God’s directions, arrived in Canaan. This was where Abraham was to live. To spend the rest of his life. This was the land that God was going to give to his descendants - who would one day be more numerous than the stars in the sky - or the grains of sand on the seashore. Yes, the whole story of Abraham began with a single step of faith. And once he arrived in Canaan, though his physical journey was over - Abraham’s spiritual journey was just beginning. He was going to have to live by faith. Faith that God would sustain him. Faith that God would provide him with an heir. Faith that God would keep His promises. Many centuries later we know that God rewarded Abraham’s faith. How different might things have turned out for Abraham, and our world, if he had not stepped out in faith!
20 years ago our family also embarked on a significant journey. On August 27, 1992, we arrived in Kalispell, MT inside our old 1984 Ford station wagon. It was the end of a physical journey that had begun 4 years earlier. It was then that we left our native Niagara Falls, NY to travel to Minnesota. So that I could attend Crown College. And prepare for ministry. Now we were in Kalispell and the spiritual part of our journey - the journey into ministry - was about to take place. Kalispell is where I would officially be known as, and called, ‘Pastor’. Kalispell is where I would be responsible for the spiritual welfare of a group of people. Kalispell is where I would have the opportunity to take all that ‘theory’ that I had acquired - and put it into practice.
Certainly there was a learning curve at the beginning. When you arrive in ministry in your first church, people automatically assume that you are skilled in every area. Preaching. Teaching. Counseling. Leadership. Administration. The reality is that any ‘newbie’ to ministry has very little skill. A lot of potential perhaps. But not much experience.
But God was gracious. And the people were kind. Supportive. Loving. And God blessed. Eventually I gained some valuable and much-needed experience. I was able to translate my education into skills. I learned on-the-job and eventually became comfortable with a particular style of ministry that represented who God made me to be.
20 years later I look back on our time in Kalispell and I am amazed. Amazed because rarely do most pastors last this long in their first church. Amazed at the skills that I have today that were so undeveloped back then. Amazed at the sermons I preach - for each week I get to see first-hand how God brings it all together. Amazed at how much I have grown spiritually. Amazed at how much I have learned about myself. And human nature. And the Bible. Amazed at what God has done in our family. Amazed at how faithful God has been each step along the way. Amazed at the various ways that God has worked through me to impact the lives of others. Who knew? I certainly longed for, and hoped for, this. But still - it is amazing when one sees it actually happen! And to think that all of this is a result of a single step of faith years ago. What if we hadn’t taken that step of faith? How different would our lives be today. And the lives of countless others.
There is a lesson in all this. That lesson is the importance of faith. Faith is a journey. Faith is always moving forward - into realms yet unknown. Faith trusts God for what it cannot see - believing that He can make the impossible possible.
So where are you taking a step of faith today? In what areas of your life are you trusting God? Your job? Your marriage? Your family? Your finances? Your ministry? Wherever it is, don’t stop! Keep going forward. Keep trusting God. Eventually your faith will be rewarded. You will be able to look back and see the hand of God at work in your life. You will be able to see how much you’ve learned. And grown. You will be able to see how God has used you to impact the lives of others. And someday, in Heaven, everyone will be able to see the results of your faith. And they will give glory to God!
Lord, I thank you for the journey of faith that led me and my family to Kalispell. That 20 years later has produced so much fruit. It’s all because of You. And for You. Help us to continue to walk by faith. On a daily basis. Trusting You. Knowing that You will accomplish great things. In us. And through us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
