Monday, June 28, 2010

Jump off a cliff...

It has been a long time since I have written any kind of reflection and, frankly, I went through a sort of dry spell for a while where I felt like God was not saying much. Recently however the lid has been blown off of all of that and God is asking me to take some steps that feel like stepping off of a cliff.

Coming from my North American cultural upbringing I have it ingrained in me to never attempt something without first having a good idea of the outcome, especially when it comes to our finances. Living here in Nicaragua I have been constantly challenged to see the Nicas trusting God with their finances because they do not have the savings accounts, investments, etc. Their faith, when it comes to trusting God to provide for their physical needs, is in a whole different league from my own faith.

Why might it be that they trust God so much more to provide for their needs? Probably because they do not have all of the "safety nets" that we always have behind us in North America. We are always encouraged to "save for the rainy day" and buy insurance for every possible eventuality that we can imagine. When we have all of these things in place what do really need God for anyway? I always have my own means to resolve any problem that might present itself.

I have become fully convinced that until I take a leap of faith in regards to my finances, and stop relying "on my own understanding", I will NEVER grow in my faith. If I really believe that God will take care of me then I need to live that way and stop trying to set it up so that there is no room for him to work.

I know that God is calling us, as Abraham, to step out into the unknown. Admittedly, the "play it safe" side of me wants to resist this idea, but I am learning to give my fears to God and am excited to see what God has in store for us.

So if in the near future you hear that we are doing something that seems sort of crazy be sure that we have "jumped off the cliff" and are growing in our faith as we see God provide for us. It is an exciting prospect to give EVERY ASPECT of our lives over to our Loving Father.

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