Sometimes we can but step out in faith

Whilst listening to 'I believe' by the Blessed Union of Souls this morning, I started contemplating how there are times in life when we all we can do is step out in faith. We don't see the end point at the start like God does. We can't anticipate what the future will hold. We can only listen, straining to hear God's voice amidst the crisis, chaos and confusion of all the other sounds in our lives.

By putting one foot in front of the other, and choosing directions which we hope will draw us nearer to God and help us to walk the life that God has appointed for us, listening for the footfalls of God as He walks beside us. He knows what the future will hold. He knows where our mistakes and choices will take us. And He loves us. We can't stray off the path too much if we consistently evaluate where we are heading and assessing our bearings against where we feel and believe God is leading us.

Sometimes the only way to get to places in our future where we need to be, is to make mistakes and traverse through the darker valleys. But just because we may not always see where we're going or may stumble, doesn't negate God's presence in our lives or prevent Him from encouraging us, watching our step and keeping us from greater perils. The pain may be difficult to bear but we are not required to carry it ourselves; in fact, we're strongly advised not to even attempt to lift the heavy burdens (Matthew 11:30).

Hindsight is a glorious thing. Knowing the reason and lesson behind each landmark on our journey is a fantastic encouragement. However, the confusing, muddled thoughts in our mind, questions about where we're going, and whether a particular rock in our path is truly necessary, is a invaluable tool for growth and exciting challenge that takes us beyond our current locations and levels. So look out for the lessons, patiently endure the trials, never stop assessing your direction or speed, and feel the presence of God in your life in each and every landscape.

The way we see life is not always the way God sees it

One of the ways in which I hear from God is through my dreams. Like Joseph in the Old Testament (Genesis 37), I tend to have at least one dream a night. Sometimes these are me trying to sort my life out by contemplating events that have happened, sometimes they're random, and sometimes they contain a message or hidden meaning.

I had this third type of dream yesterday. I dreamt that I was in a village/ amusement park for the day sightseeing and that just before boarding the train at the end of the day, I went to the toilet. I had to be quick as the train was going to leave soon. In my haste, I forgot a bag of Christian materials that I had bought in a local shop that contained books, toys and gifts that I had carefully chosen. As I left the cubicle, I suddenly remembered but by then it was too late as there was a huge queue for the toilet and the train was soon to depart. You can imagine my annoyance -a waste of money and time, and grievance at losing things I had chosen for myself or my friends and had already considered as my possessions - and there was no way to recover them as this village I had visited was hundreds of miles from my home so I would never be returning.

I was then reminded that the way we see life is not always the way God sees it. I then saw the same cubicle from the birds' eye view and watched how each person who came to the cubicle took something from the bag as for some reason, they knew that each of the items could be taken without it being classified as stealing. One old grandmother couldn't afford any gifts for her toddler's birthday so chose a soft-toy from the bag - she learnt that God always provided for our needs and sometimes our wants too. A fiance took a printed poem from the bag and used it in her ceremony and it touched the lives of some of those who attended her ceremony as it was so poignant and fitting for this couple. I'll skip the rest of the stories but the last one - the one that stood out in my mind above all the others. A suicidal lady took a book from the bag. It looked beaten up, old and was missing its front cover (I'd chosen it from the reduced section). She thought it was like her so was interested in it. As she read the collection of stories, poems and scriptures it contained, she started crying and then weeping as God was using each one to bring her to a heightened awareness of Him, bringing her from death into life.

I learnt through this dream that everything happens for a purpose, even the bad things. That even though we might not realise it at the time or ever see the reasons why, God is still working mightily in our lives and those of people around us. So next time, you lose or forget something, or something doesn't quite work out the way you wanted or envisioned, consider what God is teaching you through your experience.

About the author

My name is Libby Holderness. I'm originally from Singapore, currently live in Reading, Berkshire, and have spent substantial periods of my life in Laos, Ukraine and Wales. I am a free-lance journalist and mainly write general interest articles which tend to be factually dense. I am an avid photographer and use my pictures to either accompany my articles or in short videos. In addition, I teach English as a Foreign Language at my local university and am actively involved in student welfare at the university where I teach.

My native language is English and I have acquired many varieties of this. I also use Russian, Welsh and Mandarin and have previously studied Dutch, Flemish, French, Malay, Lao, Spanish, Thai and Ukrainian to an elementary level. I have also achieved a BSc in Natural Sciences (Anthropology, Linguistics and Mathematics) from the University of Durham, an MA in Language Documentation and Description from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and an MA in Applied Linguistics and Teaching of English as a Foreign Language from the University of Wales.

In my free time, I travel extensively, write and direct short plays, help with the local Rainbow Guides and Ranger Guides groups, and belly dance!