At times, I struggle balancing what I see in the realm of reality and what I hear in the realm of the spirit - they don't always match up! And to be honest sometimes I either doubt God or doubt my hearing from God! However, I know three things: 1) Without faith it is impossible to please God. 2) In order for faith to be truly faith, it will require a challenge and stretch. And 3) the Bible is filled with examples of God calling His children to trust in His leading, even though His leading went contrary to what reality was.
For instance, just take Gideon and his 300 men or Joshua and the wall of Jericho or Moses and the Red Sea - each instruction from God to be quite honest was ridiculous in the realm of the natural, but each was right on and each required a large dose of faith. Or take Jesus’ instruction to the lepers to simply go to the priest. Or His instruction to Peter to simply catch a fish in order to pay his and Jesus’ tax - all of these instructions did not match up with the realm of reality that each faced. Going a bit further, take the instruction to Ananias to go to the house Saul was staying at - how ridiculous considering that the last Ananias knew, Saul was coming to arrest all the followers of Jesus!
On and on I could go. I mean come on, Joshua just marching and shouting to defeat Jericho? Moses and a rod to cross the Red Sea? Gideon and only 300 men to defeat an entire army? In each case if we were totally honest, the leading from God did not match up to what they were facing in reality, but that is where the truest expression of walking by faith and not by sight is truly seen.
Here is the challenge: Take time to pray and hear from God. And when God speaks, act in faith. Remember the 10 lepers in Luke 17:14 - it was "as they went" that they were healed. It will be the same for us: as we go in obedience to what God has spoken, we will see His blessings in our lives!
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
