Taking Steps of Faith!

By

David L. Mulherin

Have you ever watched a small child take that first step? Do you remember the first time you were able to ride a bike with out training wheels? As these events take place, excitement comes over you. An unexplainable joy fills a parent as they watch. But for the one taking that first step, you see fear and adventure on their face. When the task is achieved you may see confusion and joy combined on that little face. And then as that next step is taken you will hear laughter and joy.

These are steps of Faith. Faith is reaching out into the unknown and grasping onto it. Faith believes without seeing. Faith trusts when there is no reason to trust. That belief in faith is the core of who you are.

To place faith in an unseen God is hard for some to do. But for those that have, their lives have been forever changed. The stories are too numerous to count and can send chills up and down your spin. Down through the ages we find stories of men and women that stepped forward to accomplish things that normally they could not have accomplished without a sustaining faith in God. These people took steps of faith. They trusted in God. In doing so, they left a mark on this land. The Bible is full of stories about these people. But the history books of our country are full of the same kinds of stories. If you don’t believe me, read some of these books. Read the personal letters and books written about these individuals. You will find these people had a deep faith in an unseen God.

General George Washington was a man of prayer. One day one of his men happened upon the General in the woods. The man said that Washington was on his knees praying for the Lord’s guidance. And this was not the only time he was caught in prayer. Unfiltered history shows this. President Lincoln, even though he did not confess to believe all that the bible says, did say that there “has to be a God” and that he was trusting in Him to deliver his country from it’s own vices. (These are based on statements from many different sources.) I have talked with people that were teenagers the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. The one thing that stood out in their minds more then anything else is when President Roosevelt led this nation in Prayer. They said that they knew right then that every thing was going to be fine. These people had faith in their leader and they trusted him. In turn, that leader had faith that God was going to bring his country through any adversity.

Whether you read a history book or you read the bible, you will see that faith helped advance the cause of man. This is abundantly clear in the Bible. When Moses stood in front of Pharaoh, it was for the good of the Hebrews. When Joseph waited, he waited upon the Lord to deliver him. He knew that in God’s time it would serve his own good. But when you read about this in the bible, you find that Joseph’s faith in God’s deliverance turned out to be for the good of the people. (Genesis chapters 39 thru chapter 42.)

This same faith was manifested in the story of Jesus. In the New Testament, you will see this story unfold. You will see how Jesus’ faith in His Father brought Him from the cross to the grave. This same faith caused men such as Stephen to not only live for Christ, but also to die for Him. How can this be? Why would anyone want to take such an extreme stand? Stephen, like so many others, stood for truth; the truth that sets you free, truth that brings about a peace and assurance.

To step out of one’s comfort zone and boldly believe in life after death is unseen faith itself. To put this faith in an unseen Father in heaven is an even greater step. Can you take this first step? I want to help you take that step. I want to show you how walking with Christ is actually taking steps of faith. Do you want to take that first step? Do you want to see what God can do for you? Then I challenge you to pick up a bible. Read Acts chapters 6 & 7. Then come back next week and we will take a close look at Stephen’s faith together.

May 15, 2003

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