My church does this really cool 21 day long initiative known as "21 Days of Prayer." Its aim is to get the church to see the power of prayer both corporately and individually in the hopes that they will continue it long after the event is over. We do it twice a year in August and January and this was the first time since joining the church that I'd really wholeheartedly participated.

A couple of weeks before 21 Days, I was distraught. It had been a year since I felt God had spoken to me on the next big thing in my life and yet I was still living in a wilderness of uncertainty. My heart was restless and searching constantly for answers. I went in to this 21 Days asking for an answer and asking for clarification. On the day before it started, I was reading Habakkuk 2. I turned there for verse 3 which says:

"This vision is for a future time.
    It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
    for it will surely take place.
    It will not be delayed." 

That encouraged me, but what God was really leading me to was verse 1 which says,

"I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he will answer my complaint."

As I read I saw that verse 3 was an answer to Habakkuk's fervor in verse 1. I felt Him impress upon me to seek Him the best way I knew how and to not give up until I got an answer. And that's just what I did. Every single weekday morning, I got up and participated in 6 am Prayer. There were some days I dozed off while seeking God, there were some days I contemplated quitting because I wasn't seeing results, but I still went and each morning He was faithful to speak to me and teach me. I participated in each part of this event not out of obligation, but in the hopes that God would keep meeting me and keep clarifying things. And that He did, but not really how I expected.

God did give me clarity on what I need to do next in this journey and that's an answered prayer, but more than that I've learned such an invaluable lesson: trust in God includes trust in his timing and method of fulfillent. This sounds obvious, and it's not new information but rather a new revelation. I've been learning that God's character is worthy to be trusted and He is faithful to what He promises. Just because I don't see an answer in front of me doesn't mean He isn't working. I am at peace with the yet to be fulfilled promises in my life because I have learned to trust in God. I am at peace as a result of seeking God in these 21 days. On this the end of the 21 days, God reaffirmed what He taught me by reminding me of the following verse:

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you." - Isaiah 26:3

He is keeping me in a place of perfect peace because my mind is focused on Him and because I'm trusting Him with my uncertainty. I didn't come out of this time of intense prayer with the results I thought I would, and quite honestly my situation hasn't changed much, it's actually gotten a little worse. However, I'm continuing to pray and continuing to trust that this will be part of my testimony when the Lord does come through. And He will.

By definition, to leap is "to spring through the air from one point or position to another." I think the most crucial part of that definition is not the act of springing, but rather where the subject is springing to. The definition says that the subject (the person doing the action) springs from one position to another. This requires movement.

A couple of years ago, I went on a trip to a week-long student trip with my church. These are my absolute favorite. I love pouring into students' lives and seeing them further their relationship with Christ. However, this one was probably the most challenging one I have done in my 5 years serving in student ministry not because of the students but because of the nature of the trip. This wasn't a week long trip in a 5 star hotel, or even a hotel at all to be honest, it was a week long CAMPING trip. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate being outside. I just don't like it. I don't like being hot, I can only stand so long being cold, there are bugs and random animals outside, one usually gets dirty outside; I'm just not about it. But I sucked it up and went on this trip because I love students so much. One of the activities of the day was a time for us to swim in the lake there, and one of the most popular attractions during that time was the high dive. It consisted of a wooden structure in which you had to climb a million stairs to get up to. Somehow, the students convinced me to try it and so I conceded. I swear, students can pretty much get me to do just about anything and it's really just because I love them so much that I don't want to disappoint them. So I climbed what felt like 800 stairs to the top and as it neared my turn I got more and more nervous. I'm not typically afraid of heights, but it still gives you the willies to look down and see how far up you are. It was finally my turn and the only advice the lifeguard gave me was, "Make sure you pencil dive so your arms don't hit the water too hard." Seemed easy enough, until I couldn't do it. I waited there for a good minute or so trying to hype myself up enough to just jump already! I eventually did, but in the chaos, I forgot to put my arms down and they hit the water so hard that I had bruises underneath for the next few days.

We all get to points in our lives where we are required to step outside of our comfort zone, trust God, and jump. But I've found that at least in my life, I'm terrible at it. The idea of trusting God is good in theory but when it comes to actually getting ready to jump, I shrink back to what's comfortable. But what I neglected to realize is that this is actually a really unhelpful strategy if I want to move forward in my situation.

I was talking to my friend Trevor the other day and he said something in passing that stuck out to me, "A ship can only be steered if it's moving." I'd never thought of it that way but he's right! If a ship is docked, the wind can't direct the sails because there's no movement.

Look at these two verses and see what they both have in common with the metaphor about the ship:

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives. - Psalms 37:23 (NLT)

We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps. - Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

Did you catch it? Both include the word, "steps," which implies movement just as the ship metaphor does. Perhaps God's given you a dream for your life or you are in the middle of a tough situation, but I'd venture to say that God can't move in your situation unless you do. He can only direct if you are moving. This is absolutely revolutionary, in order to move forward, you've got to move. I know right? Groundbreaking. But I think so often we expect God to miraculously fix our situation or just hand us our destiny on a silver platter when that's not how God works at all. Christine Caine says that God tends to work with those who are already working. If you look at a lot of the characters in the Bible, they had to step out in faith, not knowing if things would turn out as hoped, and trust that God would take care of them.

For so long I've been standing on the wooden high dive of my situation ready for God to do a miracle and get me to the water already when I haven't even moved at all. I'm no closer to the water if my feet stay planted on the platform than I am if I am standing at the bottom of the stairs. See the difference between where you are and where you want to be is movement. God will step in and handle the impossible, but you've got to jump.

"What if it doesn't turn out the way I hoped?" That's a real question and I'd venture to say the great heroes of the Bible like Ruth, Esther, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego etc. all thought that same thing at one point or another. But they all still stepped out in faith? Why? I think there are a few reasons:

1. They knew that nothing would change if they didn't try. Esther couldn't save her people if she didn't try to plead with the king. Ruth couldn't have moved on from the tragedy of her situation and even been in the lineage of Jesus if she didn't step out in faith and present herself to Boaz. Sure your situation might go the opposite direction of what you want but what if it doesn't? Isn't the possibility enough to make you want to try?

2. More importantly, they trusted that regardless of the outcome, God would be there for them. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that death was a possibility, but they trusted that God would come through for them. Weren't they in denial then? I don't think so, because they weighed the negative outcome. Daniel 3:18 says,

"But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Even if He doesn't save us. Even if we die in that fire, God is there. What's the "worst case" in your situation? Sure you might get bruised, but the water is still there to break your fall. Sure you may get hurt, face rejection, or straight up fail but God is still there to break your fall. He won't let you down.