LIVN By Faith Part 3 - Do It! - Taking the Steps of Faith That get you There

LIVN Blog
Oct 8, 2016
13 min read

Standing at the edge of your future, you've heard from the Lord, now its time to take the steps of faith that will get you to your God ordained destination!

As summer here in the United States is winding down, our family has been reminiscing about the trips we took, the things we saw, and the funny moments that still have us laughing. Now we are beginning to make plans for next year’s adventures. Several times a year our family packs up and heads out to spend time together exploring new places and visiting old favorites.

Something that we have learned over the years is that in order to have a fun successful trip, we must rely heavily on the Holy Spirit for direction from start to finish. Once we have our directions, we begin preparing for the trip, planning our meals, checking the weather, packing our gear, loading it up, and making sure the vehicle and camper are sound and safe for travel, constantly asking Him where to go, how to get there, what to pack, listening the entire time to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Before we head out we pray. We ask Him to guide us, keep us, help us, and show us new adventures, believing He will do just as He said He would do (John 16:13-14). Then we go, stepping out in the direction He has shown us. I can’t tell you how many times He has led us away from problems and led us to the most amazing fun we’ve ever had!

Abraham is an example to us in so many ways but perhaps his most outstanding example is of his faith walk, his absolute trust in God. God spoke and Abraham said “Ok!” packed up and went.

Genesis 12:1-5 Complete Jewish Bible

Parashah 3: Lekh L’kha (Get yourself out) 12:1–17:27

1Now Adonai said to Avram (Abram), “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

4 So Avram went, as Adonai had said to him, and Lot went with him. Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran. 5 Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena‘an (Canaan) and entered the land of Kena‘an.

The Lord spoke to Abram and said, “Pack up your stuff and get out of here.” The Lord told him about his future, about the destination; “You’re going to be blessed and you will be a blessing to everyone! I will protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you.” Now Abram has a choice. He could have begun to consider what he was leaving, his family and his home town, his job and the life he knows. He could have gone to his friends and discussed it with them to see what they thought. Then he could have looked at the gas prices, oh I mean the hay and water prices in other lands, talking about what he didn’t know, what he didn’t have, and what he couldn’t do. He could have allowed himself to let go of the words the Lord spoke to him and say, “There is a drought in Canaan. If God wants me to go He will have to fix that drought first! There is no way I can go with that drought, we won’t survive! So many things could happen! What if… there is just too much I don’t know about this journey! I am just going to stay here and wait on God……” BUT praise God he didn’t do or say any of those things! He didn’t think about what he didn’t know, have, or couldn’t do, he just packed up and left, and I am so very glad he did, aren’t you?

Faith comes by hearing and so does fear. When we continually talk and think about what we don’t know, what we don’t have, what we can’t do, it digs us deeper into fear cementing us to a life of pain, lack, and sorrow. I am not telling you to deny that there are challenges, but here is where you decide if they get to control your life. It starts in your thoughts and is fueled by your words. Talk about what you know, what you have, what you can do and more will come!

A lot of the time the enemy will come with fear saying, “You ‘think’ you’re hearing God but it’s just you imagination! If you step out on this you will fail! What if God doesn’t show up? He will be disappointed in you.” Have you heard things like that? Sure, we all have.

There are two ways to be sure what you're hearing is from God.

First: God NEVER goes against His Word. Second: He brings peace. The Bible says follow after peace; Jesus is the Prince of Peace. If it doesn’t contradict His Word and you’ve got peace about it, it is Him.

I heard Oral Roberts once said, “Once you know the will of God, confer no longer with flesh and blood and get the job done at all costs.” Isn’t that just what Abram did?

John 2:5 (NKJV)

5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Another way the enemy tries to plant himself in between you and that next step of faith is fear of failure. Allowing fear of failing to stop you from stepping out IS a greater failure than stepping out and falling flat on your face! Here is a secret, we will all miss it but God is never angry when we step out in all the faith we have, believing to do His will, and completely blow it. He is right there. Just as a parent is when their child is learning to walk. In each progression there is excitement! Sitting up, rolling over, crawling, cruising, and finally the first step!

I've never heard a good parent say,

“Billy fell over 6 times today.”; “Anne fell on her face every time she tried to crawl!” or, “Joey took one step but fell 40 times today!” “This baby will never learn to walk!”

What do you hear parents talking about? “Billy is sitting up by himself!”; “Anne crawled today!”; “Joey took his first step!” The good parent celebrates each milestone.

God talks about us the same way! “Jane stepped out in faith for her healing today! Did you see? John stood up and gave the word that I gave him today!! Susan forgave her mother today!” What He is not talking about is how long it took for us to believe Him, or all the times we fell.

In the same way that a parent will pick their child up and show them the right way to do it, over and over again, God will also pick us up and show us the right way then let us try it again. God corrects us out of love not to shame us. Correcting our course is vital for us to reach our destination.

In Part one we talked about the famous story of Peter walking on the water. He had stepped out on the water but after looking to the wind and the waves he began to sink. Jesus picked him up and immediately corrected Peter. Imagine if Peter had reacted as most of us might have after, being brought back to the boat by Jesus. Sitting in the boat thinking, "Everyone saw me fail, how can I ever step out in faith again? What must Jesus think of me? When the boat docks I should just go my own way, go back home and back to fishing. I am not good enough to be here."

In fact this is exactly what he did after he denied Jesus 3 times. He went back to his old life. Even then, when Peter thought his life as a leader and a minister was over, Jesus came to him and brought him back to the high calling he had ahead of him. He didn’t say, “Peter you have fallen too far for me to take you back.” Or, “Peter, I forgive you but now you have to start from the beginning again.” No Jesus forgave him and set Peter right back where he was before he fell. Jesus said, “Do you love me? Then get back out there and lead my people!”(John 21:15-17) Peter’s destiny didn’t change because he messed up. Your destination doesn’t change because of a flat tire or even an engine failure! You fix it and get back on the road right where you stopped. Do not set up camp on the side of the road!

When I first started doing ministry, one of God’s favorite things to say to me was, “Just Do It!” He would ask me to give a word, pray for someone, sing a song, preach a message, move across the country, etc. In the beginning I remember my heart would race, my hands would even shake a little and all He would say was, “Just Do IT!”

Then one afternoon The Lord talked to me about fear. He told me that allowing fear to stop me from doing what God wanted, was allowing the enemy to stop me from becoming who I was meant to be. He said, “Fear doesn’t come from Me, it comes from the enemy.”

It was just a few days after that The Lord told me to get up and go give a word to someone. As I was walking up there my hands started shaking and my heart was pounding; I had never felt so nervous! I was reminded of what the Lord told me and under my breath I said, “Devil, this isn’t me shaking, it’s you! I refuse to fear! You are the one afraid of me.” Giving that particular word, regardless of what feelings were coming at me, caused events to unfold that changed my life and my family’s lives forever! It was true! The enemy was afraid of what would happen if I obeyed God that day!

After that when I felt fear try to creep up I’d smack it down, I’d say out loud, “I refuse to fear!” Then I would not allow it to grow in my mind any further. For example If I were preparing to preach or do worship in front of a large crowd and a wave of nervousness might try to sweep over me, I’d stop it and say, “I refuse to fear!” and go back to whatever I was doing. I would thank the Lord that it isn’t me anyway. I would study, prepare, or practice as best I could and then step up on that stage and lean back in to the anointing and ALLOW God to do the rest. I trust Him to show up and He has never let me down.

Have I missed it? Oh yes! Will I miss it again? Probably, but as we grow, become stronger, and learn more, just like children that mature, we should miss it less and less.

We cannot allow fear to fail or offense of correction to rule our lives and stop us from becoming who God created us to be!

Steps of Faith

Celebrating each step = patience to persevere

When God called Abram out He showed him the end result as best as Abram could understand it at the time. He told him, “Life will be good, you will be protected, and you will be a great blessing.” What the Lord didn’t show him was every step along the way. The Lord works this way with all of us. He shows us his plan, giving us little peeks of the great things He has in store for us. However, I’ve never gotten a play by play of how we get there. This is where faith comes in. Is God good? Can we trust Him or not?

Hebrews 11:6

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Once we take that first step He will give us another. When we take that step he will give us the next one and so on. One step at a time is how we get to the destination, staying focused on the step in front of us. There is ALWAYS the next step. It may not look like a step towards the destination but everything he tells you to do is connected to his plan. Just because you can’t see how this has anything to do with that, doesn’t mean you should put it off. Most likely it is the very thing that is holding you up. Do it and you will get direction for the next step.

As Abram was obedient to take steps, the Lord would reveal more about the destination. Want to know more? Take the next step.

Genesis 22:17-18

17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Romans 4:12

who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham,… 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

There have been times that I found myself frustrated, feeling stuck, seeing His great plan and expecting it to happen now. I think I am waiting on God, when really He is waiting on me!

How many times have we seen this and even done it ourselves? Receiving a vision or direction from the Lord and being full of faith and excitement taking the first steps towards this exciting destination. Somewhere along the way we begin to get tired. What has happened? We’ve reached the limit of that measure of faith. Then what happens a lot of the time is slowly and silently, no one knows, but silently they give up. They just couldn't believe for it anymore, they quit reaching for it, they quit the journey.

The enemy is quick to come and shame believers because they quit. He may say things like, “The word says thing like…”

Galatians 6:9

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

How do I keep myself from fainting when I am so tired and the destination seems so far away? You might think. The thing is, just because you’ve reach the limit of THAT measure of faith doesn’t mean you’re done it means you’ve got to go get another measure. How can you tell that you've reached the limit of your measure of faith? It's where you start fearing and fainting.

James 1:2-8

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Here is the secret…patience. I used to think patience was holding on with all you’ve got, white knuckling it until you get there with a smile on your face. A grin and bear it kind of attitude. I could not have been more wrong. When we find ourselves in a situation needing patience you will hear this common saying, “You’re trying my patience!” But James says, “The trying of your faith works patience.”

Much like starting a car works the engine, faith is the fuel and patience is the engine to get you there. Without faith the engine doesn’t run, but without the engine, the fuel doesn’t have anything to ignite. This is why the bible also says, you have NEED of patience, if you want to receive the promise.

Hebrews 10:36

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

For example, if you are driving across the country you don’t expect to make it 3,000 miles on one tank of gas, do you? No! When we are plotting out our road trips we look at the map and make plans to stop every 350 miles or so to refuel, stretch our legs, get a snack, and maybe see something unique at that stop, making each stop a mini destination.

Like a long road trip, you need to make faith refill stops along the way. You can’t expect to go the distance on one faith tank. So what do you do to fill your faith tank, to make your measure of faith grow? You get back in the word. You get back with God and ask him about it. You get a word for this moment. Allowing Him to encourage you and build you up. Then you meditate on it allowing His faith to fill your tank so you can make it the next step and so on and continue doing that until you get there.

Let’s say you’re believing for healing, sometimes our faith tank isn’t at the healed from cancer today place. So we start at the step we are at. We ask the Lord, “What do I need to put my faith on today?” Maybe your body really needs a goodnights sleep tonight so put your faith there. Seeing yourself sleeping well all night, your body getting the rest it needs. Get the scriptures from the Holy Spirit about rest and sleep. Then you talk about it, think about it, and next thing you know you’re waking up from that great night’s sleep! Now you have a, “I slept all night without pain!” party! Then ask again, “Ok God now what’s the next step?” and so on. It doesn’t mean you’re not believing to be completely healed. It means you’re on the road to healing!

With each step you take and each step party you have, your faith tank grows larger, and larger your steps get bigger, and bigger and before you know it, your healed!

It works with anything you’re believing for. Getting out of debt? Have a “We are $100.00 closer to paying off our house!” party, and so on. Celebrating each milestone is also how we keep fear from creeping up on us. When the enemy says, “Not this time!” you start giving your testimony of each step you and Jesus have climbed! This is so important! It is how we patiently persevere, steadfastly increasing our faith, giving us endurance for the race, by letting patience have her perfecting work, with strength, and counting it all joy!

Hebrews 12:1-2

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;

Don't give up because your gas light is on! Now is the time to celebrate this mile marker, refill the faith tank, and get back on the road. If we will throw aside fear and step out on the things of God there is a fire, there is a passion, and there is a power that comes; like Peter stepping out on the word ‘come’, there was power that held him, there was an excitement, a heart pounding move of God on the inside of him moving him forward towards Jesus. If we step out on the things He says it will always draw us closer to Him, fueling us up every step of the way! It’s your choice what kind of journey you want to have. Personally, I want to arrive full of joy, dancing through the doors!

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (AMP)

1 If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.

If you havent read the previous letters in this series, we encourage you to read them. Keep your faith tank full and learn more about how to live by faith.