Let's Talk About Having Faith In God. 7 Practical Keys.

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

Are you in a season where God is asking you to step out in faith? Is God asking you to do something that you feel uncomfortable doing? Maybe it’s something you had let go of and now God is asking you to pick it up again. It could be you experienced disappointment in something and now God is asking you to try again. Or maybe God is asking you to do something you’ve never done before. Is God calling you to step out of the boat?

Could God be asking you to leave the familiar for the unfamiliar? If so, then I have a word for you. You know sometimes God asks us to do things that scare us and it is very easy for us to allow fear to paralyze us and prevent us from moving forward and stepping out in faith. But that’s not how God wants us to live. God wants you and me to live in a realm of faith that we move when He says to do so.

And today I want us to look at some reasons why God could ask you to step out in faith.

It could also be that God wants you to experience another facet of Him. You can never stay the same in your relationship with God. There will be seasons where God will ask you to come up higher so that you can experience Him in a deeper way. And for you to experience Him, you might require to actually walk in faith. You see, God takes you from glory to glory. But for you to experience that glory, sometimes God will ask you to step out in faith. So if this is you, I want to encourage you to lean in on God. And allow Him to lead you where He wants.

God might ask you to step out in faith because He has something better for you. This is actually the main reason. God always has something better for you on the other side of your obedience. But it’s going to take you allowing Him to lead you and you say yes to Him. By saying yes to Him, you forfeit the familiar and walk down a path that no one has walked on before.

What are some of the ways that God will ask you to step out in faith?

It could be that God wants you to do something you have never done before. This could come in His redirection. You can check out my blog post on God’s redirection.
God could ask you to take up something you had stopped doing for a season. Maybe you were in the finance field and God told you to get into ministry. And now God is asking you to go back to finance. This is also a step of faith. Especially if you have been away from it all for a while.
God could also ask you to leave your job for entrepreneurship. This is also very scary, especially if you have never done it before.
Another way could be when God tells you to start a business that no one has ever done before. This is even scarier because you don’t even have a blueprint that you can follow.
Sometimes God could ask you to leave a town, city, nation, continent, relationship, etc.

Either way God asking you to step out in faith is not easy because it requires you to yield to God and dying to self. After all, it requires total obedience to God, which is found when you get to the end of yourself. What other ways do you think God could ask you to step out in faith? Comment down below.

Anyway, it is easy to have faith when you know the destination. But what about when you don’t? How do you have faith in something that does not even look remotely possible?

As we answer these questions let’s look at the story of Abraham in Genesis 12.

In this story, God tells Abraham to leave everything he knew to go to a land that God would show him. What’s interesting in all these is that we are not told whether Abram at the time knew about God. We just get introduced to Abram when God tells him to step out in faith. This is scary. Especially if you are used to being in control. It can be difficult to step out in faith when you have no idea where you are going. Abram had no idea where he was going. All God did, was give him a promise. Let’s check it out.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:1‭-‬5 NIV

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In this scripture we see God give Abram a promise if he decided to follow God. So it was up to Abram to step out in faith for him to experience abundance. You have to step out in faith if you want to experience abundance. But the best part is that although God did not give Abram the full picture, He gave him the end goal. Again, let’s check out the promises that God gave Abram.

These are the promises that God made to Abram should he step out in faith.

God would make him into a great nation.
God would bless Abram
He would make him into a great nation.
Abram would be a blessing
God would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him
All the people of the earth would be blessed through him.

This is a fantastic promise. Wow. Let me ask you this: would you step out in faith if God gave you such a promise? Anyway, when God asked Abram to step out in faith, he did so without hesitation.

It must not have been an easy thing, yet he obeyed. After all, he had lived his whole life there, and he was 75 years old when God asked him to step out in faith.

What’s stopping you from stepping out in faith and saying yes to the leading of God?

Is it your age?
Maybe it is the fear of failure
Or worse still, the fear that people will not accept you.
It could be that you fear letting go of control, and that’s why you don’t want to say yes to God.
Or maybe you simply don’t want to start over as Abram did.
Have you invested so much into what you are doing now that stepping out in faith just makes you nauseous?
Or maybe you are not sure if you are hearing from God.

Whatever it is, the lies we tell ourselves keep us stuck in the same cycle if we are not willing to step out in faith. I heard someone say this phrase a while ago and it struck me so hard. This is what she said. ‘ If you fail to go back to school because you feel like you’ll be old by the time you are done you are mistaken. The truth is that you will get to that age you are afraid of. But it’s your choice whether you want to get there with an added skill or simply as you are

Now obviously, this does not apply to school alone; it applies to every area of your life. Had Abram stayed in Harran because he felt old, he would have still gotten older, but he would not have enjoyed the promise. The same goes for you, if you allow your fears to paralyze you and prevent you from moving, the truth is that you will get older but at least you will have stepped out in faith. Let me ask you this, would God ask you to do it if He had no plan of being with you every step of the way?

If you are unsure whether it is God speaking, check out this blog post on hearing from God. I do agree that you need to move only when it is God speaking. But sometimes we can use that as an excuse when we clearly know it’s God speaking. It could be that you are not ready to step out in faith and because you don’t want to step out in faith, you discredit the thought as yours or worse the enemy. But just because something is unfamiliar, it does not mean it is from God.

Also, just because God said no before, doesn’t mean He is saying no today. It could have just been He was saying not yet because it was not yet time for the thing you had prayed for. God’s not yet changed to yes when His time is right. Sensitivity to hearing God is key. But once it becomes clear that you heard from Him, then you need to step out in faith. And to help you, here are keys that will help you step out in faith

Keys to help you step out in faith.

Cling to Jesus.

In seasons where God is asking you to step out in faith, it is important to cling to Him. Remember, God will not force you to follow Him or stick to Him. He will give you the nudge but it is up to you to follow His leading. Abraham realized he needed to cling to God because he had no clue what he was doing. Can you imagine how ridiculous he must have looked to his people? Imagine telling them that he was leaving because God-who was not his God-had told him to leave everything he knew and there was a reward for his obedience.

People must have thought he was nuts, leaving his comfort zone and all of the wealth there. Haran was a very wealthy place, and they were known for their gold. And here was Abram, leaving all that wealth to go to a place he did not know. And to add to all that he was following a God, he barely knew and, worse still, couldn’t see. He had to cling to God because on one end of the spectrum; it looked like the biggest joke ever. But on the other end, it was the greatest display of faith in action.

He could not have done it if he hadn’t clung to God. And God is asking you to cling to Him. He knows that you are scared of failing and looking ridiculous. But when you step out in faith, God will meet you halfway. And you will get to experience realms that others only read about. The promise is on the other side of obedience and stepping out in faith. Peter got to walk on water because he was willing to step out in faith. Sometimes God will require you to step away from the norm to experience something others only dream about. There is so much more for you and me to experience. The question is, will we say yes to God?

Look up.

Your help will come from God, the creator of heaven and earth. As you step out in faith, your faith will be challenged so much. In fact, there will be moments when you will want to give up and go back to your comfort zone. And that’s when it will be important for you to look up. And realize how big God is. This will help to anchor you in those moments when you don’t have the will to go on. In moments of frustration and disappointment, look up and see the goodness and the majesty of God.

As you do that, your faith will be reignited and your hope will come alive. This will give you the strength to keep pushing another day. Most of the time, when you step out in faith, it will take you a while for things to make sense. For the most part, it will be Rocky and unsteady. This is why again clinging to Jesus and looking up is vital.

Hold on to the promises God gave you.

The reality is that the enemy will test the promises God spoke over your life. And not only that your circumstance will look contrary to what God spoke over you. But that’s okay because it is just a season. When Gods promises over your life are tested it is a good thing. This is because it is a clear confirmation sign. Let me let you in on a little secret. The enemy will always contradict God’s word. So if the promises are being tested it means they are from God. And the best part is, that God is not a man that He should lie. He will fulfill every promise. And all this is because of His name’s sake.

The cool thing also is that God has been faithful in the past so you can be sure He will be faithful to you too. He is not a respecter of persons. What He did for others, He can and wants to do for you too. God gives you the promise beforehand because He wants to give you something to hold on to when the going gets tough. So hold on to the promises spoken over your life. God will speak to you in many ways. It could be through dreams, visions, or repetition.

Believe God.

It all boils down to you believing God and taking Him at His word. The truth is that He will never make a promise He cannot fulfill. But the reality is that the enemy will test the words spoken over your life. In the season of testing, you have a choice to make. You can either take God at His word or you can choose to have doubt and sink like Peter. So today I want to ask you this, will you step out in faith and choose to take God at His word?

Surround yourself with faith-filled believers

As you step out in faith, it is important to check your surrounding. Be very careful who you allow in your inner circle. Because they can break or make you. One key thing you need to know is that not everyone will understand your journey. Not everyone will get it. And that’s okay. You see, not everyone is meant to get it. God gave you the promise, not them. And sometimes you need to be okay with the fact that the people who knew you before might not be the ones God will allow to walk with you in your journey. Abraham had to separate from Lot in order for him to go to the next level.

They will get it when they see the fruit. But right now, find a community of people who get it. Because the community will help encourage you when you are weary. And they will also get you back on track when you veer off the wrong way. Encouragement from people who have been through something similar will keep you going.

Be very intentional when spending time with God.

This journey requires faith. But for you to have that faith exercised and strengthened, you need to be intentional with God. The very first thing you need to do is to seek Him. God promises that when you seek Him wholeheartedly, you will find Him. You also need to renew your mind. Your old way of thinking cannot go with you to your next. This is why it is important to spend time in prayer and in the Bible. Romans 12:2 tells us not to conform to the patterns of the world. But to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. So that we can know what God’s will is- His good, acceptable and perfect will.

As you step out in faith, you will need to hear God’s voice and His leading every step of the way. And His voice will be clear to you the more you spend time with Him. The reason you are able to hear the voice of a loved one in a crowded room is that you have spent considerable amounts of time with them. Schedule your time with God and ensure that you honor the appointment always. Initially, it will be a struggle, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. It is in your secret place that Revelation will come. God promises to show you the way you should go. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will direct your steps. You are not doing this alone; you are doing it with Him. So it’s important to get instructions for every step you take.

He will do it.

The Bible says that you need to keep standing after you have done everything there is to do. You might step out in faith and not see the results and the Promise instantly. But when you hold on to it, you will experience the very thing God said. God is not a liar. And also He will not give you false hopes. He will do what He said He would do. That is a promise from Him.

Key takeaways for you when you step out in faith.

Be confident in God.
Cling to God.
Find a community
Trust He will do it
Hold on to the promises He spoke over your life.
Be intentional when spending time with God.
Focus on God

Do not be discouraged when it takes time. The truth is that it will come to pass. And not only that, God will redeem your time. Joseph got to experience and live in his promise for a very long time. In fact, the Bible says that he saw his great-grandchildren. Others had a head start, but he still got to the finish line. You will get to the finish line. And you will get to enjoy your promise. Do not be afraid of the time lost, because God will redeem your time. After all, He is the God of Acceleration.