STEPPING TOWARD GOD WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW THE OUTCOME IS RISKY!

Actually, it can be downright scary. To the point of making your stomach feel more than just butterflies, it can create a tsunami in there!

I recently found myself with a “tsunami stomach” situation just this last week.

I felt God prompting me to take a risk, trust Him for the results, and create an event that would not only meet the needs of our ladies at our church, but would also reach out to encourage ladies from all over our area.

I felt God telling me to trust Him and be ‘Strong in my Spirit!’ I mean after all, I’m in good company, right?

Look at Queen Esther, Mary, Martha, Mary the mother of Jesus, Deborah, Rehab… and the list goes on. But it is easier said then done! 

There is a reason they are my hero’s, they are strong, bold, confident, sure of their faith, courageous and bold. That’s why I look up to them. It is one thing to look up to them, it is a whole other thing to be like them!

I felt weak, a bit scared and unsure, and doubted my ability to accomplish the task God was asking me to do. Why would these women I wanted to invite listen to me? Would I be able to create an environment warm and welcoming enough to build them up and encourage them? Would I find the time to make sure all of the details got completed? 

Would the women come? Would the women care?

It was too big of a task for me! The tsunami in my stomach began to grow and it threatened to wreak havoc. Then it happened, the still small voice of my gracious heavenly Father whispered, “trust me,” all you have to do is “trust me.”

I began to reflect on the lives of my female heroes in the Bible. I realized that I heard the beginning and the end of their story, and had to guess at the “in-between” times.  I imagine they had butterflies and tsunami’s swirling inside their stomachs as well, but what I realized more than anything, was that they trusted God through the entire process. They did not quit, shrink back or give up! They trusted, God showed up, and His purpose was accomplished!

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN WE TRUST GOD, HE SHOWS UP!

I realized at that moment that the success of the event did not depend on my success, it depended on God showing up, and boy, did He show up!

We had a record number of ladies attend. Women from our church were there and women from all over Sonoma County were there. The comments during and after reflected their thankfulness for being encouraged, loved and treated special.

I realized that what happens in the unwritten, “in-between” time, does not determine the outcome. It is the beginning and the end that allows God to show up and do His thing!

I am so happy that I took that first step of faith, stayed in the process even when the tsunami hit, and allowed God to show up and give us one of the best times I have ever had with God’s Chicks!

I do not know what God may be asking you do, but I do know that if you trust Him, take that first step of faith, and stay the course when the waves hit, He will show up and do what only He can do!

I love that we are in this ‘Faith Walk’ together. That we are stronger when we gather together, learn from each other, and lean on each other when the going gets tough.

Christine Cain put it perfectly when she said,

“We grow ‘strong in spirit’ when we:

*Absorb God’s Word

*Pray

*Fast

*Read Christian Books

*Stay planted in a life-giving local church

*Worship God Regularly

*Stay in Community With other strong Believers!”

By absorbing God’s Word we read about and gain encouragement from women of faith who have gone before us, have taken those same scary steps of trust, and allowed God to “show up.” By staying in community with other strong believers we gain strength ourselves!

There is no limit to what God can do! Don’t allow your circumstances to grow taller than your trust in God, and block your view from what God can do!

Speak Truth Love