Walking in Faith often means taking
a step without the ability to see where your foot will land. The sentence I just wrote would
have seemed sound wisdom to me a few months ago… as my life stood rather motionless
in routine.
Since then, I have stepped into a
leadership role unlike anything I have done before, to a place I never thought
I would go, with people I have never met, and-until the journey actually
began-without someone to lead with.
And yet, I would not have it any
other way. I now know that God is
faithful BECAUSE he responded when I stepped into who he has made me to be,
BECAUSE I am already amazed by the faith of the people of Africa, and BECAUSE
He waited to provide the ordained leadership for our team until the last
minute. He waited because He had
something very specific in mind.
He knows what is best and that is why I have faith.
It is not simply my faith that is
growing, however. I have had the
privilege to witness the beautiful people of this team overcome fear for the
first time…discover the voice they never had…find peace in a stillness they
never thought could transcend their restlessness. But none of these were the moment that stirred my heart the
most…
After a day rafting on the Nile,
which was both relaxing and a bit of a rush, we were lounging around a grass
hut when one of the young men on my team approached me with a request. He had never been baptized before and he
wanted to make that statement in the Nile River in the heart of Uganda.
As we headed down to the river, my
mind was mostly occupied with getting to the hostel for the night and getting
in touch with our contact before we showed up on his doorstep the next
day. But as the two of us waded
out into the shallows of the Nile, it struck me… I have never baptized anyone
before. How do I go about
this? But when I asked him if he
was sure he wanted to commit his life and make this declaration, I looked in
his eyes and I saw this readiness and anticipation that washed over me and
filled me with a joy that was not of this world.
That young man made a statement of
faith that day. Since then I have
watched him continue to walk forward, in spite of the unknown he approaches,
and as a result I have seen him walk into a freedom he has never seen
before. That is what this life is
about. Walking in faith that
although we cannot see what God has for us, that we know it is good. Because He is Love.
