One of the devotionals I subscribe to is called “Encouragement for Today”—it’s delivered to my email inbox every morning. This morning’s really got me thinking. The verse to introduce the devotional was Hebrews 11:1...”Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” I have known the passage since I was a child and it’s a verse I have loved for a long time. But, with the devotional today, it sank a little deeper into my heart.

When I was eighteen, I was sent to Bible college-not by my choice, but I have to admit God taught me a lot there. This college was ultra conservative, heavy on the rules, and I had a hard time with that. So, when I saw the name David Livingstone in this devotional, I almost skipped reading this one because I first heard about him when I was at this college. But, I read on and I’m glad I did; I know God wanted me to hear this one. It’s about getting out of your comfort zone…something I’ve really been through a lot of in the last year and a half, but it feels like just the beginning. Scary, but exciting, and worth it. I don’t think God wants us staying too long and settling into a comfort zone. So, here’s what it said basically…

David Livingstone was a missionary in Africa and a group of friends sent him a letter while he was there saying that they wanted to send him some men to help with the work. They then asked if David had found a good road yet into his area. David replied saying, “If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”

“I wonder if God thinks this about us sometimes. I wonder if He ever calls us to obedience without showing us the path we will travel, or the end result, just to see what we will do. Kind of like a test. Will we obey without a road map?”

Getting out of our comfort zone to obey God isn’t easy and it is tiring. And I’m not whining…it’s just a fact, isn’t it. God doesn’t call us to serve with the level we are comfortable. I think He calls us to serve at a level beyond our own security so we can really depend on Him. It gets ourselves out of the way so He can be who He is…great and mighty in all His ways.

In order to grow, our faith must be stretch, and that is uncomfortable. But when we act on the call to obey, it shines light on the truth about our faith. Either we decide to trust that God will show up, or we sink back into our easy chair, believing that God’s power is not as strong as my need for comfort and my own security.

We can’t learn “to trust God by reading a book or listening to a great sermon.” Nor do we learn “to trust God by hearing how my friend trusts God.” No, we learn “to trust God by stepping out into an adventure of obedience” and discovering for ourselves that He is completely trustworthy.

“Obeying when God hasn’t revealed the steps along the way or the final destination is challenging. But when we choose to walk by faith and not by sight”, God is glorified because we KNOW we couldn’t have done it on our own!

Every time I have chosen to get involved at The Crossroads, it has resulted in some growing pains. In the beginning, it was helping out in the office. Then it was letting go of my kids and trusting they would survive being in Sunday School with kids they didn’t know. Helping out with planning women’s activities, taking pictures at church, and then helping lead high school Bible studies have all been stretching experiences for me...way out of my comfort zone. Making a decision to take a stand for what was right at the risk of losing a friendship I held dear was a really crucial time for me in trusting and letting God work in my life. But for most of those stretching times (I’m not sure I enjoy planning women’s activities :) ), I knew deep down that I was just being the person God created me to be. And God has hugely blessed in so many ways. My faith has become strong, and so many friendships have resulted in the last couple years.

I also can’t help but think of so many of people in the Bible that chose to trust God in spite of what they saw or didn’t see. Noah built the ark, trusting God that it would rain, and his life and his family’s were saved. I’m thinking David must have had a voice inside of him that told him he was crazy to face Goliath, but he instead chose to listen and act on the voice that reminded him of how God had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear and He would surely deliver him from the hand of the Philistine. Daniel trusted God to shut the lions' mouths while he spent the night in their den. Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego had to be a little scared to walk into the HOT furnace, but chose to because they knew they worshipped a living God. I could go on, but the pattern I see is that each one trusted God in the face of an “impossible” circumstance, and their faith grew deeply…because God is trustworthy.

I also think of Jesus, who stretched out his arms out of love and died a painful death for us, surrendering to the will of His Father. Talk about not taking the easy road. He chose His Father’s plan because He knew it was eternally trustworthy.

That's the kind of God we follow...one who is completely trustworthy. He will always have our best interest at heart, even when the path of obedience seems a little scary. We can take a step of faith, because it not only pleases God, but it delights Him. And He loves to bless our courageous steps.