“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 2003 when my husband and I had been separated for 18 months, most of my friends and counselors (including my pastor at the time) began telling me to start the divorce papers. My marital situation looked pretty incurable at the time.
I, however, wanted the Lord’s guidance.
To my surprise, when I started to seek God on what I should do, everything He was telling me was “restoration, patience, healing, wait.”
I couldn’t believe it! I thought for sure God wouldn’t want me staying in this hopeless situation.
Well, guess what? God was right. After a few months my husband came to me and asked if we could try again and go see a marriage counselor. Unbeknownst to me, He had committed his life to Jesus during our separation and had turned his life around.
God knew.
My husband and I wouldn’t be together today if I had not walked by faith. Everyone around me was telling me to divorce him, which made sense to me too. However, God wanted me to do something different.
Do you believe?
Believing that God is in control of your life and that He has a beautiful plan for you is the first step to walking by faith (Tweet this).
Walking by faith and not by sight, however, is very difficult. Learning how to have confidence to believe that what we hope for will actually happen feels impossible at times. It is very hard to have the assurance about things we cannot see even though God may be telling us to do so (Hebrews 11:1).
It is especially hard to walk by faith when everything in your situation looks hopeless. But this is when our faith is most tested as we learn to trust in the God of miracles (Matthew 19:26).
The reason it’s so challenging to walk by faith is because we are more comfortable living in the natural realm, and walking by faith is supernatural, it’s living by the Spirit of God.
What area of your life do you need to walk by faith?
Do you need faith for your marriage to be restored? Or is it for your adult child to come back to faith? Is it that you want to be able to conceive a child? Have financial peace? Or perhaps, you wish you were healthier?
Whatever “it” is in your life that you feel burdened with, God wants you to lean on Him and allow Him to show you the way.
Here’s how to walk by faith in any area of life:
1. Talk to God about what’s burdening you
Even though He already knows, He wants to hear from you.Talking with God about all that’s on your heart builds your relationship with Him, and more than anything, Jesus wants intimacy with you.
Tell God your desires.
You can be bold with Him (Hebrews 4:16).
Also be specific with your requests. For example, don’t just say, “Oh Lord, please bring my son a good wife,” say, “Lord, please bring my son a young woman that loves You with all her heart. May she be a woman of discretion, loyalty and understanding. May she bring peace and harmony to our family” etc.
Make sure to ask God what He wants for you and be willing to accept His will for your life.
2. Commit to prayer and reading the Word daily
Let God lead you, through His Word and His presence. Do not stop pursuing Him until He reveals to you what His response to your prayer request is.
Always keep in mind that there are ways that benefit us that don’t always make sense to us. This is because God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9).
3. Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Once God impresses on your heart what His plans for you are, you must believe Him. This can be extremely challenging, especially when your situation feels hopeless.
You must trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will set your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
4. Act on what the Lord tells you.
Although this is the hardest step, it’s the most important one. God wants us to listen to Him and it is through our actions that we show our obedience to Him (James 1:22-25).
Sometimes God can feel silent. I believe when He is silent we can do one of two things; We can do nothing different and simply wait, or we can take a step in a direction and ask Him to stop us if we are wrong (Acts 16:6-10).
So, what are you seeking and believing God for? Have you asked Him what His thoughts are on the matter? Are you trusting Him? Are you acting on what he has told you to do?
I encourage you to allow God to have full control of your life. When you live this way, allowing Jesus to lead you, life can feel like an adventure, full of hope, peace and joy (Romans 15:13).
Please leave me a comment below on what your greatest challenge is to walk by faith and not by sight?
“For we live by believing and not by seeing.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7
Photo Credit: Sam Hakes
A very difficult way to live for sure, but your living example is most encouraging. Thanks for the challenging reminder of Gods invitation!
Thanks for your continuous love and support of me honey. I love you~
Definitely needed this reminder, thanks so much for sharing your wisdom! And praise God for all He did in your marriage 🙂
Yes, praise God for the miracle He did in my marriage. Thanks for your comment. Love you~ 🙂
Tweens, Thank you!!! once again true words of wisdom from GOD’S HEART!!! Your testimony to GOD’S faithfulness and the fruit of your life in HIM is always an encouragement to me!!!!!!!!!! GOD bless you sister!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear Mary~ Thanks for your loving and encouraging words. You continue to be a pillar of support for me. God bless you my sweet sister. Love you~
Wonderful to hear and know God was in control 🙂
Hi Ardy,
Thanks for your comment. So grateful to Him!!! 🙂
What a beautiful post Tweeney!! You have an incredibly gifted way of writing with such peace and grace. At least that’s what I got from reading your posts. Appreciate you explaining what various verses mean. For some reason, the part about Commit to prayer and reading the Word daily really stood out to me. Right now, my greatest challenge would be doubting Him. Doubting I’m a part of His family…and not accepting what He already tells me. I’d rather hide those last two sentences and put the mask on again…sometimes it’s uncomfortable to put something, esp a secret or something personal in writing for all to see.
Dear Elizabeth,
Thanks for sharing from your heart here. I love that about you! Also thank you for always encouraging me on my writing. You are so sweet. Doubting God is more common than you may realize. So I don’t think you are alone in doubting His love for you. Hiding behind a mask is also a natural response for most. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are definitely part of God’s family. I want to encourage you to ask God to help you believe in His love for you. If you ask Him I know He will be faithful to respond to you and show you. In Galations 4:4-7 (below) we are reminded that we are His daughters, and therefore, His heirs. When doubt comes in, meditate on this verse (and others), on God’s promises to you. Doubt is from the enemy who wants us to live defeated lives. Don’t let him! If you ever want to chat more on this Elizabeth, you can always email me privately. I would love to help in any way I may be able to. You are a beautiful daughter of the most High God. He calls you His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). I’m sending you hugs and love sister~
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Thank you for the reminder to walk by faith. I feel like the Lord is asking me to not give up even when things do not look promising. Your message did blessed me today. I so appreciate your message to follow God even when things look bleak.
Dear Jessica,
It’s so easy to want to give up when life becomes challenging, isn’t it? This is where our faith is so tested. You have been a great example of walking by faith to me my sister. Thank you for that. Love you~
Thank you, sweet, dear friend, for your faithfulness – both years ago as you started your journey of healing and restoration in your marriage, as well as each and very day in the present. It’s amazing that because of your decision to obey God and to follow His Will for your life at such a difficult time, would result (among many others) in encouraging those of us through your blog 10 years later. God is so amazing in that He is using your faithfulness back then, to encourage, give strength and hope, and to answer prayers/speak hope to all of us TODAY! Reading your words of encouragement, hope and Truth are always exactly what I needed to hear that day to not give up on myself or my marriage, and are “my daily bread” from God – just enough to get me through another day, believing that God has something better lying ahead as long as I persevere and give Him thanks, even when it is so very hard. I love you Tweeny, so very much!
Dear Karen,
Your words always bless me so much. Thank you for this kind comment.God is amazing! He has a GOOD plan for your life Karen. It’s hard to believe that when we are struggling. Keep persevering, seeking Him and trusting Him. He knows whats BEST for you. Waiting on the Lord and walking by faith is sometimes the hardest thing to do. I encourage you to stay focused on Jesus. I love you too sis. Lord strengthen and bless you with His peace.