When It’s Time To Jump

The Bible is full of accounts of men and women being given an assignment that includes the command to “Go”.

Abraham and Sarah were given a promise and sent along to the “promised land”.

Jonah was told to go to Nineveh.

In fact, as I think about it “staying” seems to be the exception. It might not be a physical move from one place to another. Sometimes it’s a career change, leaving a church, moving on from a relationship or letting go of something.

There is something about getting us out of our comfortable environment that fosters a space for God to do something new in our lives.

Why is it that when God gets ready to do a new thing, he often asks us to “go”?

As my husband was going through the interview process for the job that moved us to Tennessee, I had a few months to think about what our answer would be if we were offered the job. We kept praying that doors would open if this was God’s will for us. But when the offer finally came, we still agonized a bit. Yes, it was a great opportunity, but what about all the details that would need to fall into place to make it actually work? God didn’t answer all the questions we had. In fact, He asked us to have the faith to jump before we knew how the story would play out.

Getting the kids buckled as we got ready to drive from MN to TN
Getting the kids buckled as we got ready to drive from MN to TN

I don’t think that’s the exception. Sometimes when we try to confirm God’s direction, we look for a sure bet. We say that it must be His hand at work because all of the pieces have completely come together. That happens sometimes. But it seems, more often than not, He calls us to something that seems a little crazy with no guarantee of anything but that He will be with us.

When it’s time for a leap of faith

In the movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, there is a scene at the very end of the movie where Harrison Ford’s character has to figure out how to get across a huge chasm. He opens his guidebook and reads, “Only in the leap from the lion’s head will he prove his worth.” He concludes that jumping will be impossible. He stands on the ledge, faced with whether to step off in faith or not. When he takes the first step forward, he finds there is a bridge that crosses the chasm that he hadn’t seen before.

crusade-challenges-1

That’s not gospel, but I’ve seen God work that way in my life.

He leads us to the ledge and then asks us to take a step out in faith. Only after we choose to trust does the way through become clear.

5 thoughts on “When It’s Time To Jump

  1. This was good for me today, because as the time for our move gets closer and we continue to wrap up things that have been such a part of our lives for so long, I begin to wonder if we are dong the right thing. Will we actually like it there? We will find jobs? Will we find a church we love? Will we make friends? But I keep going back to the fact that God has not failed us yet, so I can’t imagine why He would now. Don is down to 14 days of work left. I have just over 50 days until I join him.

    1. I’ve been thinking about you guys I think back through our process of moving. It was very hard, stressful and exhausting, but in the end it was worth it. I think it will be for you too!

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