A Mighty Leap of Faith

A mighty leap of faith is what we need to take so many times in this life and yet fear of the unknown will shut us down every time! This is the enemy's biggest weapon....FEAR. Fear is powerful. It will stop you in your tracks. It will keep you from thinking rationally. Fear can cause actual physical manifestations such as a heart attack. And fear is Satan's biggest weapon against Christians in particular, for it challenges our trust and everyday walk with God.


In the bible there is a story of the widow of Zarephath. In 1 kings 17: 13-16 Elijah encountered the widow while she was out gathering sticks. He asked her for some water. And when she started to go and get him some water, he said, "Oh, by the way, could you bring me a morsel of bread too." Well, she and her son were struggling and really had nothing to eat and she told this to Elijah. She said that in fact she was just about to prepare a final meal for her son and herself. She said that she planned to use the meal that was left at the bottom of her meal barrel and the little oil that she had left to bake a cake which she and her son would eat before they died.

She, in her natural eyes, could see no way out. All she knew for certain was that starvation meant death and she had given in and had accepted her and her sons fate as she saw it. But Elijah had brought more than a thirst with him. He had brought her a word from God himself. He said to her, "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah'; and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah."

She took a leap of faith and listened to a word of God delivered by a total stranger. To me her leap of faith was particularly brave because we must always be on guard and not let just anyone speak into or over our lives. We must make sure that we are listening to those that we know are anointed of God. However, and although these words are NOT in the bible, God does work in mysterious ways.

A few years ago the third and final chapter of the Indiana Jones movies came out. This one had Indy chasing the Holy Grail. At the end of the movie when the Grail was at hand, he had to go through a test that all others who had tried had failed. However, instead of just walking through this obstacle course as described on the map, he actually did all the physical moves in the prayer on the map and was spared being killed where others that had tried failed . He did just wonderful and was feeling quite proud of himself and thought that his trial had turned into a cake walk. He became almost smug as he continued, to what he was now sure was an easy path, to the Holy Grail. He was not even watching where he was walking anymore. Suddenly he was walking out an opening and he heard rock grinding against rock and stopped short just before falling to his death over a cliff that lead to a cavern so deep that he could not even see the bottom of when he leaned over and looked. When he looked behind him, the opening that he had come out of had closed and would not open. He was frozen by fear. His hand shook as he raised he map, and prayer it contained ,to his face. He was horrified as he read the words, YOU MUST TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH! Oh boy. To leap off this cliff would mean a sure death. But he looked back at how far he was brought safely by the prayer and suddenly knew that he had to continue to be obedient. He took that leap and found himself on a ledge that could not be seen from where he was standing on the cliff about 3 feet higher. That scene in that movie changed my life. I would never fear taking a leap of faith with my God ever again. When God enters your life you will still face adversity and hardship. But God will make a way where there seems no way. And He will stretch your faith to the point that when God finally does intercede in your situation, you will know that there was no way that you could have seen that solution from where you were and that it was God who brought you through and you will give Him all the glory for your deliverance. So take that next leap of faith needed in your life. When you walk with God, what do you have to fear except the tool of the devil which is fear itself.