10 Steps of Faith You and God Will Love
Some of us take steps of faith that are sure and precise while others trudge through halfheartedly. Jesus watched faith in action as He went about doing good. Jesus, our biggest encourager, would be the first to say, “Wow look at them go.”
I sense Jesus’ excitement when reading the scriptures in Matthew 8:5–13. In a nutshell, the centurion tells Jesus to speak the word (that’s all) and his servant will be healed. Most people bawl buckets of tears when a loved one suffers and dies. The Centurion approached faith with a matter-of-fact mentality. His full-blown faith never missed a beat.
Other steps of faith in the Bible include the widow’s strong faith. She gets Jesus’ attention (Luke 21:1–4) by plucking her two mites into the coffer. That money represented ALL she had. All around her, a steady flow of dings hit the bucket but in comparison her offering was HUGE. Jesus said so.
“As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Stepping Out in Faith
Faith doesn’t roll out suddenly from under your bed and say, “Where ya been?” In fact, I’d venture to guess that Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau had a personal history of stepping out in faith. Just like you and me, they took baby steps.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed… Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” Henry David Thoreau
The 10 steps of faith below help move you forward. It doesn’t matter if your faith is small, large or somewhere in between. During each step of faith, God cheers you on. My book, Psalm 23 Bible Study: The Lord As My Shepherd, is essentially about having faith to follow your Shepherd.
Steps of Faith: You Don’t Need Proof
Faith begins with salvation which leads immediately to a relationship. Onlookers watching Christians don’t understand faith. They think we’re insanely gullible to believe in an invisible God. Before you accepted Christ, God reveals Himself in unmistakable ways (different for each person). After you accept Christ, you see God in everything you do. He becomes real, tangible, and personal.
You Take action
You don’t sit on the sidelines as you walk a Christian path. Peter walked on water (it wasn’t an epic fail because he sank), the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and Noah built a boat because God said to.
What’s your story? What have you done in faith that looking back seems huge now? For me, plowing forward for X number of years without a piece of chocolate cake urging me on seems monumental.
Steps of Faith: You Wait
As I explain in my article, “The Pain of Waiting on God: No One Wants To”, you learn to rest productively while waiting. Moses grew up in Egypt and lived there for 40 years. Next, he tended sheep for his father-in-law for another 40 years (training for his real job). Finally, at age 80 he spent the next 40 years leading God’s people out of slavery toward freedom. Waiting happily while God works behind the scenes helps grow faith quicker.
You Experience the Unknown
God told Abraham to leave his country, family and his father’s house (Genesis 12:1). He left all he knew without knowing where he was going. In the process of waiting for promises to happen, God told Abraham to count the stars because the promised people hadn’t been born. God said Abraham would be the father of nations but his son Isaac was a long way off.
Decades ago, I did something similar. I left the familiar surroundings I’d always known. I’m not kidding—IT WAS HARD.
You Trust God When Evidence Says Not To
Imagine getting up one morning and God says, “Abraham, today you’re sacrificing Isaac on an altar.” I’d say, “Get behind me devil.” But that wasn’t the case in this situation. Abraham and God had mileage between them. Abraham knew he could trust God with his son’s life. Keep in mind, this isn’t a faith test God reserves for every Christian.
Here’s the thing. As soon as you become a Christian, there’s a new game plan. Instead of trusting what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell—you hook into your spiritual man and view life through God’s supernatural lense.
Steps of Faith: You Don’t Look Back
Since Christians serve a NOW God, there’s no need to look back. Lot’s wife disobeyed the angel who plainly told Lot and his family (Genesis 19:17) to keep their eyes looking forward. Don’t take the truth of what she did lightly. All of us face destruction gazing backward to what was, rather than forward to what may be.
You Take Huge Steps
Queen Esther had a huge problem on her hands. Haman devised a plan to destroy the Jews—her people. God uses Esther to save His people and her. She risked her life to reveal the truth about her heritage.
To make this step of faith relatable, once I revealed the truth knowing the cost. My life wasn’t at risk but firing was a possibility when working for a wicked employer. The service-oriented business completed work for clients. My job was to bill them when the work was done. For five-plus years, I took an in-your-face stance when this corrupt person instructed me to bill clients for uncompleted work. He’d eventually, say, “You’re right don’t bill them yet.”
You Hope For What You Can’t See
Your ambitions, goals and plans are anchored with faith and veneered in hope—“Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1). You’re in good company. That’s how God created the universe – “things that are seen were not made out of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
You Please God
I’d like God to take me to heaven in a swish the way Elijah and Enoch left earth. The two of them kept a vital, open relationship with God. In doing so, they developed faith and pleased God, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). You and I can please God too.
You Join Hands with Perseverance
Persevering keeps you in the game when life sends you overboard. God rewards your diligence. “For he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
How to Take Steps of Faith
This top 10 list about faith isn’t complete. I could add obedience, God-sized visions, submitting your will, etc. Coming up with an exhaustive list is futile because God’s knowledge is unmeasurable.
Faith sees the unseen. Here’s a prescription you can use to grow faith throughout your lifetime.
“So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ (Romans 10:17).
You’ll stay faithful to the end.