Whoever will embrace this book, whoever may find themselves in a tough time, please remember to “pray and not to faint.”1
We will find God on the edge of life’s adventure—the very naked edge. Pray, and when there is no clear direction, or we don’t know what to do, do not do anything! Wait on God, and He will show when, where, and what to do. When there is an open door, go through it. “All of the times are in His hands,”2 and as I said earlier, He will not fail us. Yet, we must be ready to step out against all the voices of doubt and fear, and obey the small voice that points in the direction we must go.
I was speaking to a man recently who was telling me that he felt the LORD wanted him to step out in faith and make a career change, but he was afraid to do it. When we fail to step out in faith at the leading of the LORD, our real problems begin. There is an order to the way God operates in our lives. God sets the stage for our deliverance from a tough situation, for the fulfillment of our needs, or for the answers to our prayers, and then prompts us to move into position to receive what He has for us. Therefore, when we wait and think we can move on that decision next week or next month; most often we will have missed the opportunity and God’s timing. This is a very important lesson. When the door opens, go through it, without hesitating. Also, when we find ourselves in a difficult situation, be quick to lay down any pride that may affect the decision. If pride interferes with God’s leading, He will allow us to fail in order to remove the pride that is within us. Our Savior hung on a tree naked to redeem our souls from destruction; therefore, let humility be the robe of our choice when we find ourselves either at the receiving end of charity or on the giving end when helping others.
Think about this. When Moses commanded the children of Israel to go up and take the Promised Land, they refused, because they were afraid of the size of the enemy. Then God refused them and said, “You shall not enter, but I will let you die here in the desert, and your children will go in where you refused to enter.”3 Then all of a sudden, the children of Israel found their faith and were ready to go up to battle. But God then told Moses to instruct the Israelites not to go up to battle, because He (God) would not go with them. But again they refused to obey, and when they attempted to go up and route the enemy, they were defeated. They had missed the opportunity (their door) because of complaining, fear, and rebellion. When God rejected them for missing the opportunity to enter the Promised Land, they ended up dying in the desert over the next 40 years, and it was their children that finally entered under Joshua’s leading. When God is ready, move and claim the victory.
These lessons in the Bible are of infinite importance as examples of how we are to follow the leading of the LORD. Therefore, be quick to humble yourself and quit the rebellion. Our lives depend upon a right relationship with God, even when we are in a bitter or difficult situation.