I was originally going to repost this entry from October 2009, but only because I wanted to use the YouTube clip. But the video has since been taken down and the overall theme of the post wasn’t what I wanted to share.
Since you can’t see the video, I’ll describe it to you. If you’ve seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you know this scene. It is towards the end when he is trying to get to the Holy Grail. He has to pass three tests, one of which is a “step of faith” over a wide chasm with no bridge or rope. Indy takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and steps forward into the abyss, only to step onto solid footing. The “bridge” was an optical illusion that blended in with the background so could it could not be seen.
I’ve used that clip several times to describe how sometimes we just need to take a leap of faith. We have to close our eyes and step forward, trusting that God is in control.
Last week I talked about stress and worry being a symptom of a lack of faith in a God bigger than us. I then talked about how the things we stress out about are usually blessings. Yesterday, I gave a personal anecdote to show that God will provide, even if his promise makes us laugh. I hope you notice the theme. That post was supposed to have followed the other two last week, but my week was derailed. This post was intended for last Friday when I was literally taking a leap of faith.
Enough background though. Why is it so hard to make the big decisions in life? Why are we so reluctant to pull the trigger? Lack of faith? Stress and worry? We don’t see the blessings? I think all the above, mixed with some bad theology concerning the will of God. Leading into last week’s leap of faith, I’ve been reading Kevin DeYoung’s Just Do Something. A good book and great reminder, covering ground I had read before in Decision Making and the Will of God by Friesen and Maxson. If you’re familiar with the latter, I recommend the former; it’s much, much shorter!
But the gist is that we convince ourselves that there is a specific plan God has for each of us. A “will of direction” that there is a specific job, a specific spouse-to-be, a specific home, and so on. Yes, God is in control and he wants the best for us. Those are his “will of decree” and “will of desire”. In other words, God’s sovereign and moral will. Who we marry is only aligned with God’s will when it does not violate either his sovereignty (which it by nature cannot) and his morality. The same is true of jobs and other big decisions.
The advice is to pray for wisdom, study the Word of God for moral guidance, and seek Godly advice. If you do all three then you can step forward into the unknown with confidence because in the end, God is still in control.
It sounds easy. Until you have to do it. Last week I interviewed for a new job. This job would take me and my family all the way across the country. It sounded hard and maybe a little over my head, but I was convinced it was an open door God provided. So last Friday, after months of prayer, study and input, I took a leap of faith.
(since this was supposed to have been posted last week before my interview, you’re going to have to wait to hear the ending. Stay tuned…)