Do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit leading you to act in faith or does faith move first? I have prayed a prayer many times in my life asking the Holy Spirit to give me a "sign," but as I read and understand God's word that isn't how you walk in faith from a biblical standpoint.
The most relevant example I can find comes from Joshua chapter 3. We find God's people at the edge of the Jordan River. They hear the water as it moves over the rocks and they see where the water swirls in places as the river gets deeper. Imagine, standing there, knowing that God has told you to walk across this mighty flowing river to the other side. What would you be feeling right now? Fear is what I would be feeling. I don't swim that good.
God didn't command the people to stand and wait until He parted the waters like He had at the Red Sea. In fact, scripture tells me that "as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the waters edge, the water upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap...the priests...stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground."
“and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.” Joshua 3:15-17 ESV
The most relevant example I can find comes from Joshua chapter 3. We find God's people at the edge of the Jordan River. They hear the water as it moves over the rocks and they see where the water swirls in places as the river gets deeper. Imagine, standing there, knowing that God has told you to walk across this mighty flowing river to the other side. What would you be feeling right now? Fear is what I would be feeling. I don't swim that good.
God didn't command the people to stand and wait until He parted the waters like He had at the Red Sea. In fact, scripture tells me that "as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the waters edge, the water upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap...the priests...stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground."
“and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.” Joshua 3:15-17 ESV
It wasn't until the priests started getting their feet wet that the waters parted. What does that mean? It means that every person had to commit to walking into the water will full anticipation that God would part the waters at exactly the right time.
Now, hang on a sec. Let that sink in. As my grandpa used to say, "Ponder on that one a moment."
When you are thrust into a difficult situation and you have no idea what to do next, how do you respond? If you are wise, you do the only thing you know to do, given the information you have at the time.
When God places a burden on your heart, when He speaks to an area of your life in which He is calling you into deeper water, more often than not, He won't give you any new information until you wade on out in faith.
I was once told by a trusted and wise friend, that God doesn't give us a panoramic view of life. He gives us just enough. He looks through a window and we see life through a keyhole. This may not be what we want but hear me when I say this, it is for our best interest. There is absolutely no faith needed for a panoramic view of life. We grow when we accept the keyhole view. You and I can only begin to grow our faith when we walk out in faith and get our boots wet.
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