I was afraid to submit. Not to my husband, but to a publisher!
Since my children were grown and more independent—giving me more freedom to pursue my passion—I wanted to get back into freelance writing. But the thought of submitting anything scared me. I didn’t know if my article, blog, or devotion would be accepted and published. I feared rejection. In my sinfulness, I wanted a guarantee first.
Unfortunately, I was walking by “sight,” wanting confirmation before I stepped out and did what God was calling me to do. Faith doesn’t work that way. In its purest form, faith is the simple act of moving forward—one step at a time, with no guarantees. It is stepping out without knowing if the thing you’re being called to do will be done.
I can only imagine how Abraham felt when God called him to leave Ur for a foreign land that was hundreds of miles away. Or how Noah felt when God called him to build a magnificent boat and gather a menagerie of animals. Or how Rahab felt when she took a giant risk and hid two Israelite spies.
None of them were given any guarantees that the thing they did would come out right in the end. Yet each one moved forward, trusted God, and walked by faith.
God does not always give His children guarantees beforehand. He wants us to trust Him explicitly. And in stepping out, He blesses us. Because He is faithful, He brings about the thing which He promised.
Trust your heavenly Father. Move forward in faith without any guarantees. And watch in amazement as He blesses you beyond what you could ever ask or imagine.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Denise Kohlmeyer is a former journalist and freelance writer, having been published in Christianity Today and Today’s Christian Living magazines. She has also co-authored two books in the Clues for the Clueless series. She lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband, Dave, and their three children: Jocelyn, Jessica, and Daniel. You can follow her on Facebook. She is a regular contributor to Blogos.org.