Is Your Faith an Act?

 

There’s quite a bit going on in the Kraft household these days.  Paul just finished his year of law school to satisfy the Tennessee Bar here. And, may I just add the praise report that we were able to do this without acquiring student loan debt? Um, yeah, that’s just huge. Praise God!

I recently submitted my book proposal to a pub house that seems pretty interested. I don’t want to speak ahead of what’s going on but let’s just say it looks really, really good.

In all this work, there’s been a silent or maybe it’s more like a nudge from the inside – I feel it. A pressure to move forward even when I want to quit. This book I have on my heart to write is a book for moms. It’s not the only book on my heart to write and to be completely transparent, it’s a book I believe God wants me to finish before I move on to a women’s Bible study I’m just itching to begin working on.

It would be easy to step over this project. After all, the literary world is telling me it’s a bad idea. “You’ll be labeled a parenting author. You’ll never be able to write anything else.”

Still, when peace eludes me, I know God desires a path that may not look normal to the Christian literary world. Which sometimes surprises me. Shouldn’t they be the ones refusing to listen to the perfect marketing plan, the perfect social media platform? You’d think.

I’d much rather make this life a Holy Spirit thrill ride. I want to walk on water with Jesus. He is my focus, my greatest desire. 

It’s been an interesting journey. But, isn’t that how our God is? I was at a conference in San Francisco years ago when Priscilla Shirer said something I’ll never forget:

“The biggest mistake we make as Christians is expecting the Lord to move the next time the way He did the last time.”

Sometimes we have to act on faith even when the unexpected happens. Even when the world and sometimes the Christian world tell us differently. I have to stop waiting for the perfect literary agent, the perfect publishing house, the perfect behavior from my kids, from my husband, from my family. God allows imperfect opportunities to make perfect imperfect people. All the while, we walk in faith.

Faith means to act. To step off , to step out. Especially when circumstances shout for us to stop. But, to stop means my faith is an act. When I refuse to take a step of faith and wait until God responds in the way I want Him to then He is no longer God. I am.  

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5