Eagerly, I climbed to the top of our station wagon roof, placing the item my stepfather had given me in a secure spot. Hot sun shone down, but the metal felt comfortably warm against my skin. Giddiness bubbled up inside me as I gazed around at the green trees gently tossed by the breeze and wide-open fields that stretched as far as I could see. Another adventure! We were off to a new place, a different landscape and hopefully another motel.

In later years, when revisiting this memory with my sister, who is three years older than me, I shared how much I had loved that summer of moving around.

 “I hated that summer!”, she said.

Shocked, I asked her why.

“I felt unsettled, like we were never going to find another home!”, she responded.

Life is a journey, and we each see it from a different perspective, depending on where we are. We can become focused on the danger rather than the adventure in life. To get caught in fear and anxiety rather than expectancy and trust.

God calls us to look at life from His perspective, though, by reading His Word and the example of His son Jesus Christ.

As followers of Christ, we have been given promise after promise of hope and faithfulness. We can step out into a life of adventure with God by exercising our faith in Him. First, though, we have to answer a couple of questions.

1. Is God who He says He is?

• Can God do what He says He can do?

If God is the Almighty, All-powerful Creator, and Sustainer of everything we can see around us and what we can’t see, then we can trust Him.

“For with God, nothing will be impossible.” Like 1:37 NKJV

If God can do what He says He can do, ANYTHING, then we can follow Him wherever He takes us.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 NIV

Faith means action, sacrifice and risk.

Action

If we say we trust the Lord, we need to put down our safety nets and take a step of faith.

I love the scene from the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where he comes to a cliff edge and there seems to be no way forward. His Dad’s life is on the line, so he closes his eyes and steps out. And he doesn’t fall. Because of an optical illusion, he couldn’t see there was a narrow rock bridge to cross over.

Jesus Christ is our bridge to God. Through faith in Him, we are promised access to all the riches and power of God according to His will. (Ephesians 1:20) If we are in His will, we are safe. When He asks us to do something, He will see it to completion. Our job is to follow, one step at a time. Sometimes they will be baby steps, other times they will be leaps. But he will be with us, before and behind, with His hand on us. (Psalm 139:5)

Sacrifice

Did you just grimace when your read that word? That is how it makes me feel. I like comfort and my favourite things around me. Letting go is hard! Honestly if I had my way, this would be the picture. I would be drop-dead gorgeous, and my husband would worship the ground I walk on. Our boys would all live in our neighbourhood, be married to orphan girls who adored me and have picture-perfect, angelic children. (Well, the last part is pretty close to the truth. ????)

God wants more for us, though. He desires for us to grow in our faith and knowledge of Him. Stagnant, scummy pools are not in His plan for us, but fountains of life-giving, joy-filled water that make us flourish. For that to happen the Lord asks me to, and sometimes forces me, to pry my fingers off of what I love and want, and place it in His.

Risk

I am not a risk taker, as a rule. I like adventure, but ones I know the outcome of; controlled adventure. God calls us to a life of adventure with Him. Most of the time, those adventures seem too risky, because we don’t have the full picture. We want assurances things will turn out okay, meaning our way. But He has a purpose and a plan for us, to make us holy, like Christ. For that to happen He has to stretch us and make life uncomfortable, even painful at times. But He does it out of love for us and glory for His name, which is one and the same. He is faithful and promises to be with us in it and get us through it, by His strength.

What about you? Do you see following Christ as an adventure or danger?

A visiting missionary to our church once said, “There is no safer place to be than in God’s will”. That impacted me. It is more dangerous to go my way than to follow God’s plan. His ways are sure, mine are fraught with risk because I can’t see what tomorrow or even the rest of today will bring. We need to start our day by asking where the Lord wants us to go and what He has for us to do. Then trust that He will be sufficient for whatever adventure He has for us.

Have faith, Sisters! Let’s get in the car, take our hands off the wheel and enjoy the ride. Oh, my friends, I need to do this today as well! Pray for me, and I will be praying for you.

Be well!

Patricia