Baby Steps of Faith (April 19, 2023)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The parents of infant children know that before the little ones can walk, they begin with small baby steps. Taking it step by step, a little at a time, is part of the learning process. Eventually, through trial and error and perseverance, the child gains balance and puts together a succession of small steps until, much to the delight of the proud parents, he or she is eventually walking. That is also true when it comes to our own spiritual growth as children of God. Believers mature in their relationship with God by taking tiny steps of trust that eventually lead to walking by faith. 

A prime biblical example of this Christian maturation process is Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people. God called Abram, whom He later renamed Abraham (meaning “father of many”), out of a pagan land that is present-day Iraq to go to a special place that the LORD promised to show him. It must have been difficult to leave his homeland without knowing his ultimate destination, but Abraham stepped out in faith, allowing God to guide his path a step at a time to the Promised Land of Canaan that would become the inheritance of his many descendants. 

God expects us to be just as obedient when He seeks to do His will and fulfill His purpose for our lives. When the LORD calls us out of our comfort zones, as He did the founding father of the Hebrew nation, He generally does not lay out His whole roadmap for our mission all at once. By walking by small steps of faith not by sight, our trust grows steadily as we watch God work in our lives and experience His faithfulness. As He did with Abraham, God credits our faith as righteousness and we become heirs to an eternal inheritance in a heavenly city built by God!

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)