“Sometimes God doesn’t give us the means to do something until we’ve taken that step in faith.” – Pastor Fred Estrada
I am part of the team we have based at Bethel Temple Church. As part of the worship service, the pastor asks the congregation to share prayer requests or testimonies of God’s grace. After one such testimony, Pastor Estrada shared the above statement. As it seemed somehow foreign to me, I kept it in my mind to meditate on and pray over. I examined my faith and came to realize that it is such that I hesitate to do things that do not seem reasonable to me. For instance, it seems unreasonable to me to agree to drive a couple extra people home from church knowing that there’s not enough gas in the tank and that I don’t have any money to get more gas. Why would I put myself in a situation that would likely precipitate winding up stranded on the side of the road with two of my mother’s friends in a car with an empty gas tank? But such was the testimony of God’s grace that preceded Pastor Estrada’s statement above. The lady who shared that testimony stepped out in faith that God would provide. And He did; one of the passengers (without being asked) volunteered to fill her tank with gas. This lady had a faith that said, “Yes Lord, I’ll do this, even though I don’t have the means to do it” – trusting that God would provide the means for her to do what He had called her to do.
As we go on our outreaches, I must daily pray for that level of faith – faith to step out of my comfort zone and engage in real conversation with people I have never met before; faith to speak the name of Jesus, trusting that the Holy Spirit will follow that up with the words that need to be spoken; faith to know that the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not determined by my eloquence (or lack thereof), but rather by the power of God.
I have been so encouraged this past week by Isaiah 59:1: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear.” Our God is mighty to save, and He hears every prayer. In this area, where everyone has been impacted by drugs and violence, the hope of the gospel is vitally important. Isaiah 59 ends with the promise of a Redeemer and the promise that God will forever be with His people. That is the hope that this area needs. Lord, give us the faith to share that hope with this community!
-Molly