Sometimes you just need to step off the ledge.

I suppose this is a lesson in “be careful what you pray for”.  Remember that retreat I went on last Fall?  The one where I wrote about how good it is to get away with God, to be able to listen to His voice and just spend time with Him?  I talked to Him about some things in my life I wanted  to work on, some things that I wanted Him to open doors of opportunity for.

So now, it appears that He has.  And it feels more like a scary ledge than a welcoming door.

I feel a bit like Moses.  God brought him up to a mountain and told him that He wanted him to do something that was totally beyond his paygrade.  “Hey Moses, I’m going to send you to Pharoah and you’ll be the one to bring My people out of Egypt.”(Exodus 3:10-12, my paraphrase, of course). Now when God tells you He wants you to do something, the proper response is, “Sure, Lord.”  But Moses wasn’t quite there yet.

“Who am I that you think I’m qualified to take this on?”

Oh Moses.  Oh Sharon.  When God speaks and opens doors and pushes you to the edge of a ledge, He has every intention of being on the other side.  But being the lover of faith that He is, sometimes He wants us to turn the knob or take the leap without actually seeing Him on the other side.  Yet.

God doesn’t answer Moses’ question directly.  I love that.  It reminds me that God doesn’t always have to answer all of my very specific questions either, as much as that completely annoys me.  I’m the type of person who wants everything laid out ahead of time. I want to know what I’m getting into so that I can be prepared for any scenario that might unfold.   So while Moses is waiting for some detailed explanation of his qualifications, all God says is, “I’m going to be with you.  And you’ll know this when you’ve done what I asked you to do, and you’re back on this mountain to serve Me”.

Wait – we have to step off the ledge and THEN we’ll know we did the right thing?  We can’t have all the guarantees ahead of time?

And that, my friends, is faith.

My ledges are nothing like being called to save a people group from the hands of a crazy Pharoah.  They aren’t anything dangerous or world-changing. And they have nothing to do with my paygrade. But they’re my ledges and they’re scary to me.  And I want to ask God why He thinks I’m qualified and I want guarantees wrapped up in pretty packages.  But what He’s asking for is my faith.  And what He’s giving me is an assurance that He’s going to be with me.

Sometimes you just need to step off the ledge.

Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.  Exodus 4:12

Teach me to do Your will, for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! Psalm 143:10

Fear not, for I am with you.  Be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10