Baby steps of faith
By Jessica Brodie
I remember when my son, Cameron, took his first steps. He’d been toying with the idea of walking for awhile, watched me with rounded eyes and mouth slightly ajar as I’d move about the room. I could almost see the wheels turn in his head, like he was mentally rehearsing the moves—stick a foot out, slide your body forward, then the other foot, slide again….
He cruised the furniture for a bit, gaining his confidence, and then one day, I could tell he’d made up his mind.
Today was the day.
Barefoot on that wood floor, he looked over from the stand-up toy he’d been pushing about, a new gleam entering his eye.
Come, I beckoned.
And so he took a step. Let go of the toy. Took another step. Wobbled… held it.
The confidence of a new walker was born.
He practiced all afternoon, and it was funny to watch. After all the time he’d spent watching walkers walk, when it came his turn, he’d screw his face up and fix his eyes not on his feet but on the ceiling.
After all, he didn’t need to see what he was doing. He just needed to do it.
Isn’t that how our faith walk can be?
In 2 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul writes to the early church about how our hope drives us on. We know what awaits us as Christians is eternal life in heaven courtesy of our Savior, that our souls will shed our human frames and human homes for our spiritual home, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NRSV).
We don’t need to see where we are going. Like babies taking their first steps, we just need to know it in our hearts. Faith propels us—confidence in our Lord, trust in His promises.
Sometimes it can be tough to take a leap of faith in life, whether it’s a new job, a romance, a financial move, a ministry effort. We overthink it, overanalyze, over-scrutinize, as if our brains are big enough to wrap around the situation in full.
But just like a baby learning to walk, it’s usually best to just put our trust in God and walk by faith, not by sight. Go for it. Do it. Take the plunge. Jump in.
Imagine the possibilities.