faith isn't a waiting game, it's a stepping game

​Have you ever noticed that when a baby attempts her first steps, everyone in the room takes notice?

Mom jumps up and takes hold of baby's hands, offering support and direction. Everyone else in the room begins shouting encouragement and applauding like they're Chiefs fans watching the Super Bowl.

It's a beautiful sequence: baby has an idea, baby takes a step, baby's strongest supporters show up and provide the parts of the process baby just can't pull off alone.

Too often, though, as we lose the baby in us, we lose the faith of the baby. We lose the confidence that if we take a step, someone is going to show up to provide the rest of the strength we need to get to the other side of the room.

We never quit having ideas, really, but we stop believing anyone is going to believe in them. Or show up for them.

We stop believing, so we stop taking steps.

Faith is believing that if I take a step, God's going to show up and take my hands. Too often, though, I want to believe faith is God showing up to convince me the step is going to work out before I take it.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do."

Nothing pleases God more than watching us take steps in faith. Yet, too often, as we grow old and wise, that wisdom can become our biggest enemy. Our wisdom can talk us out of steps instead of taking them.

Our wisdom can convince us that God would never show up for this step. So, we stop taking steps with the faith of a child, fully believing all of heaven is going to show up if I'll just take this step.

Faith isn't a waiting game, it's a stepping game. Sometimes we quit noticing God because we quit taking the steps that give him the chance to take hold of our hands and remind us, I fully notice you.

If you feel like you've lost faith, don't get more committed to faith, get more committed to taking a step. You do that enough and I promise faith will show up.

It will show up looking like a baby taking his first step.

And eventually, it will once again look like the faith of a child, and THAT will get God's attention every time.