Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
It was literally a 30 minute stare down between my daughter and I as I pleaded with her to jump into the pool, promising her that I would catch her. If you have children, you know what this stare down looks like. She had her bathing suit on, wanted to be in the water, but there was just a level of distrust that I would actually catch her if she jumped. What if she slipped through my hands or didn’t jump far enough to reach me? She saw my arms open, but was too afraid to jump. Finally after we told her that either she would have to go back inside or jump in, she closed her eyes, threw her arms in the air, and jumped towards her father. There was a sense of excitement that came over her as she landed in my arms. A new sense of confidence in her dad. She was safe and sound, enjoying what she hoped would happen.
The last six months of my life has probably been one of the scariest and most difficult seasons of my life. In the last six months, we have adopted our fourth child who is from another country, have been on two mission trips, and I quit my job of 11 years to go into full-time ministry here at Eastview. Each of those decisions and experiences have been wonderful, but have also come with a great deal of fear and anxiety on whether or not they were the right decisions to make. Each jump I made required a ton of faith that my family and I would be caught.
Our adoption would be a difficult three weeks away from our children as we brought home a one year old child in the midst of having 3 other children, one of whom also being of the same age. The mission trips that I went on consisted of me taking my eight-year-old son to Harlem New York and Haiti. The decision to leave my job which had great benefits and stability was honestly the most fearful jump that was made. To leave a wonderful job with security and benefits during a window that you have seen your family double in size would be a move that most would call unwise or even irresponsible. All of these decisions came with questions and scrutiny from even the people that I loved. Which honestly, I can’t blame them. I know how it looks from the outside. I had friends that told me that quitting my job was not a wise decision, especially right after adopting considering that my wife stays at home. I had church members question why I would decide to bring an eight-year-old to Haiti, one of the poorest and most difficult environments a person could imagine. I even had countless individuals wonder why we would adopt within the same year of having a baby of our own. This has been a very difficult and trusting year concerning my faith. However, I knew God’s calling was loud and clear concerning each one of these decisions. I just had to act.
I knew God’s calling was loud and clear concerning each one of these decisions. I just had to act.
Before each jump was made, I hate to admit it, but I stalled. I sat there staring at God with his open hands pleading with me to jump in; I spent months staring at him fearful that if I did, there was always a chance He would not catch me. What if something happens to one of our children while we are away in China for three weeks? What if we bring Lynen back home and there are physical or mental needs that we were not aware of or prepared for? What if Liam gets sick while we are in Haiti? What if the church stops growing and is not able to support us? What if I jump and realize that all these decisions were mistakes and I slip through God’s hands or don’t reach Him? What if…………
Hebrews 11 is often called the “Chapter of Faith”. If you have not read this, I encourage you to do so. This is a beautiful part of the Bible that gives countless examples of men and women throughout history who decided to jump and allows us to see God catch them. However, before all of the stories, the chapter gives a simple verse and simple message, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for”. It’s confidence that dreams, things desired can be reality.
After returning home from China, someone asked me to describe the journey of adoption and what God had shown me during my time away. I remember giving the example that I felt as if God cracked opened the door to all of the wonders of who He is and capable of, and for the first time allowed me to see in. That I was able to experience the water vs just wondering what it would be like if I was actually in it.
Scripture tells us in Hebrews that men and women who move on their faith and God’s calling are able to because they are confident in the outcome of their decisions. We all have hopes and desires. We have goals and visions of people we would like to be or experiences we would love to journey on. However, most of our desires, hopes, and goals are honestly just dreams. Not really options that we will act on. We are people that “would like to jump”, but spend most of our life staring at a closed door or are too fearful to jump into the water.
So we say no to missions, when obviously missions is a life changing and spirit growing opportunity. We say no to commands such as taking care of the orphans and others in need, when scriptures tells us that we will be blessed more than even the people we bless if we are faithful. We avoid sharing our faith with others or loving our neighbors out of fear of discomfort, which means we live our lives avoiding the only true purpose of why we exist.
We live our lives avoiding the only true purpose of why we exist.
A lifetime walking on the beach staring at the water.
But what if…. What if God did catch you? What if you jumped in and began to live out your life purpose? What if the door was opened and you saw what was possible? What if you experienced peace, love, and meaning? What if the things in life you only wished for, dreamed of, and desired became reality? What if the things you “hoped for” became the things you were now confident in and knew? What if you had faith?
What if jumping in was not so scary anymore?
The most faithful journeys I have walked in have always been the scariest and most scrutinized moments of my life. The moments that caused me to question and rationalize against His calling. The moments others might not have agreed with. The times that challenged me to live a life of dreams or knowing confidence. I challenge you to jump!! Jump knowing that the father will catch you. Take risks of faith when it comes to missions, serving, and giving while knowing that the father will grow you. Share your faith with others knowing that whatever the outcome, God smiled on you for your boldness. Say yes to difficult commands such as adoption and loving the needy, that God will bless you as you have blessed.
Faith is jumping in and confidence in faith comes from experiencing your father catching you. Then we begin to experience the type of life we had only “hoped” for in the beginning.
Blessings,
