Stepping out in faith starts with a bold step!

Every day as human beings, we are constantly taking decisions. Decisions that could bring favourable outcomes or put us into  uncomfortable positions. Although out of every decision made, we gain vital lessons in life which go a long way to build us emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

There are moments in our lives where we must take a decision which requires immediate action but we chose to be complacent. We are waiting for God to do a great miracle that will just elevate us without having to move an inch. Well, we can't entirely be blamed for this attitude, technology has made things so convenient and easy for us. Now we can sit in the comfort of our homes,and purchase items online and they are delivered immediately. We are gradually losing the zeal to go out there and discover and explore new heights By now I am sure you are wondering, where I am going with this?

I sat in my bathroom this evening, simply reflecting over my life and the things that are going on around me. The Holy Spirit began to minister to me and I was enlightened by what He revealed.

There are many of us,out there wallowing in pain and guilt,afraid to go out there and take a step of faith. We know everything there is to know about faith,it is constantly preached to us every Sunday. We are just too fearful in taking bold steps,simply because we are afraid of change. We want our lives to be as easy as purchasing a dress online. If we all had such perfect and systematic lives,we would simply have no need for God. You are reading this, and you understand everything there is to know about faith. Like my Youth Pastor would say,you are spiritually obese. You know the Word of God and understand it yet you are not applying it in your every day life. You are comfortable with just knowing the Word,but implementing it in your life makes you just uncomfortable. You are caught up in a tough situation and you know that you have to make a move that would drastically change your life but YOU JUST CAN'T! Fear has crippled you so much that you can't simply take a step of faith. Remember what Paul taught  us about fear:

"For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control"

2 Tim 1:7

Fear is not our DNA, and fear is simply not of God. Fear is a dictator who tells what is impossible and what is can never. Fear of change,will make you comfortable in your situation and complacent in taking decisions. You always question what will happen if you walk out and take up God's direction. You will always take inventory of what you stand to lose and simply refuse to do what must be done. God has told you to leave that office,that house and those friends! He has revealed the greater  agenda that He has for you:

"For I know what I have planned for you,' says the Lord. 'I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. "

Jer 29:11

When God gives a direction,He expects us to work on it ASAP. He knows the future, even when you cannot see the sense in the plan that He reveals. Simply trust Him enough to know that He will never do something to harm you. Whether good or bad,it is working for our good. I have always struggled with this thought,that no matter how bad an issue is,its working for my good. As I draw closer to God,I have come to understand that when things go in the opposite,I must pray and just watch Him do his thing!

So right now what decisions are you struggling with? God says leave this attractive job or house, I have a better plan yet you are struggling to see the wisdom in His plan. I mean lets take a pause and focus on Abraham. Abraham was living comfortably in his father's house,God tells him to leave his father's house:

"1 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father's household to the land that I will show you. 2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name."

Gen 12:1-3

Abraham simply obeyed the direction, not questioning God and what He was doing. The most important part of Abraham’s journey was his ability to trust no matter the odds. He understood very well that God had never failed in His promises and was in control.  Many of us struggle to go along with God because we find it difficult to see the bigger picture. We cannot easily allow ourselves to trust God to do exceedingly,abundantly and above all we can ever imagine. We want to be aware of what he is doing at all times to understand. As people of God,we must get to place of understanding that God does not work with the logic of our world; He does things in His own time.

Sometimes we allow what people think to cripple the direction that God has given. They lack the ability to understand the move of God in your life,and even more so that He is working it out for you. Most often than not,people who address matters with their spiritual minds can give costly advise. The advise seems to easy to accept but can put you on the wrong side of God. Look at Job's wife,she simply told her husband to curse God and die. From her perspective there was no point fighting a battle where his loss was evident.

"9 Then his wife said to him, "Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!" 10 But he replied, "You're talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?" In all this Job did not sin by what he said."

Job 2:9-10

There are people around you that you trust and they see what you are going through. You have told them,the decisions you are about to take and even though matters are tough,you have placed your all in God. They look at the difficulty of the situation,instead of encouraging you,they speak like Job's wife. They act as though there is no God,who has the power to elevate you and ensure that you are honoured. If there are people around,who refuse to see the vision that God has revealed to you then its about time you set off  on your mission and leave them behind.  The people you keep around you,must able to support you in prayer and constantly give you the motivation. When you have moments where you look at what scares you the most in your situation. They will tell you how to look above it and back it with the Word of God.

Another character in the bible who was not moved by the words of his doubters was Joseph. No matter how much he was scorned and maltreated because of his dreams, he still pressed on and overcame. Later on, it was Joseph who God used to deliver his entire family from starvation. I believe that story of Joseph teaches us a vital lesson in life which is the fact that it is not every who you must share your dreams/aspirations with, you must be very discerning in such matters. I believe Joseph had to pass through those trials so that he would be humbled and handle a position of authority with wisdom. God allowed you to pass through those trials not to tell you that you failure but to show you are more than an overcomer and ready to handle anything that He presents before you. Before you begin to doubt yourself, I want you to remember that God has already equipped you to achieve the goal ahead. 

You must be able to take a step of faith and trust God to do what He says He will do. The Israelites really struggled in their ability to trust God every step of the way. They complained and displayed so much fear that God was not able to achieve His goals with them. Caleb went to the promise land,he saw the enemies and the opportunities available. He knew that God will help them defeat the enemies and so he chose to focus on what the Lord had said He would do. God had promised to provide a land filled with milk and honey. God stuck to His promises but did not mean that there would not be tough times. It is those tough moments where He expected the people to put their faith to the test. God never promises to make things easy but He has assured us that He will walk with us every step of the way through our journey in Him.

27 They told Moses, "We went to the land where you sent us. It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 But the inhabitants are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses, saying, "Let us go up and occupy it, for we are well able to conquer it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!" 32 Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging report of the land they had investigated, saying, "The land that we passed through to investigate is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there are of great stature.

Num 13:27-32

God needs His people to recognise the opportunities before them,and leave the battles that come for Him to fight. The people of Israel failed to do that,they just saw problems problems! God has asked you to start that business,build a house, travel. You are sitting down cross examining your finances and even discourages by what people are saying around you. Whose report are you going to believe??God or Man? Children of God,its about time,we re-evaluated our faith in God and work towards strengthening it.

In these seasons and times, the doors of heaven are open and God is releasing His rains in abundance. The rains being the outpouring of His resources,breakthroughs and blessings. He needs people who ate well positioned to receive and they are not deterred by the trials that come.

We must get to a place where we are constantly speaking the Word of God over every circumstance that we face daily. Allow the word of God to bear fruit in you,in such a way that when you take a step of faith,you understand that no matter what God has got you! Stop complaining and wondering how you will achieve what God has set before you. As you complain and question matters,you will overthink things and miss the directions of the Holy Spirit. Be the one that even in the midst of a dry desert,you see fruitfulness and opportunity which motivates you to press forward. Speak the Word of God,be positive and most importantly take that bold step. Stop looking for an easy way out,God will never give you something that you can't handle. There is a hidden gift in you that God wants to draw out.

I was initially skeptical about starting a blog because I did not know what to write and if people will even take the time to read it. One thing that helped me go forward with it,was trusting the Holy Spirit to provide the inspiration for me to write. I spent too much time thinking of the result rather than looking at the process. The moment I stopped thinking of whether people would read or not, and began to focus on the content of my work; God moved in tremendous ways, allowing my blog to reach different people in diverse countries. I am so thankful to Him for granting me this opportunity to share with all of you,the knowledge He has placed in me. I know that God is not done with me, there is more to come but I simply want to encourage all of you, to never allow your dream to die.

Fear or shyness should never be a reason why, you will not come out to do something that you know God called you to do.  I had always allowed the fear of failing and inadequacy make me shy away from doing something confidently. God would tell me to do something,I would question myself and my ability to do it which then allowed the opportunity to slip by. 

Like Joseph,many of you have dreams and visions but you are afraid to make a move. You are comfortable just dreaming and imagining. Go out there and make a move. God has given you the resources and  the right connections,what are you using them to do?? You are still praying for confirmation,when you know deep within you that you have already received it. This is where you must be able to trust God and make the move. Many great people started business with virtually nothing, now they are moving in millions.

 In the film "In Pursuit of Happiness" which is a true life story of the struggles of Chris Gardner as an entrepreneur. He was financially unstable as he failed to make sales on his bone density which lead to his homeless state for almost a year  with his son coupled with his wife leaving him. Looking at the life of Chris Gardner, he really should have given up and forgotten about his dreams but he kept pressing on till he got a big break. He went on to build a multi-million brokerage firm. Imagine what would have become of him if he had wallowed in his suffering and allowed his dream to die. Don't be a couch potato,whose filled with ideas and creativity but too comfortable to move or even deterred by past circumstance. Get up and move! Take the bold step of faith!!

In these last days,God is looking for people who make themselves constantly available to do His will to impact nations.  Don't always think about yourself and how you feel about the situation,someone is desperately looking for a solution to a problem and God has placed it in your hands. You cannot be in control of everything, leave it all to God and let Him take care of matters. Let Him order your steps,leave all the worries and concerns at His feet. He has never failed His people and He will not start now.

Pick up that forgotten dream,idea or vision and put your faith to the test,most of all trust God my dear brother or sister. Let the past deal with itself,working out things in the present time and look towards the future and dream BIG!!!

Everywhere you are right now…. I want you to share this prayer with me.

“Father, as I stand before you today, forgive me for not heeding your voice and directions. Today I begin everything afresh in you. Lord begin a revival within my Spirit, guide me as I pick up from where I stopped. Grant me the Grace to push forward and achieve all the goals before me. Lord, I thank you for all you have done. I thank you for the favour, opportunities, wisdom and knowledge you have granted me. I pledge from today that in all things I do, it will be to the Glory of your Kingdom. Holy Spirit, speak to me now and grant me inspiration. In Jesus name I pray”

Amen!!

P.S if you have any thing you would like to share with me, please feel free to email me on akua95ofori@gmail.com. I would also appreciate it if you left comments below after reading.. God bless you!