May 16, 2022
A Leap of Faith
Suzanne Eller
Today’s Truth
“But Jesus said, “You feed them” (Luke 9:13 NLT).
Friend to Friend
A few women walk through my door. They bring with them stories of past addiction, abuse, childhood dysfunction, and second and third chances. They also bring friendship. Laughter. Honesty. A heart for more.
As we sit around the kitchen table, we share five things that describe us. Not five things from the past, or five things we see in the mirror. But five things that describe who we are as changed, Jesus-filled, women of faith.
When it is my turn, I share three of my five things: I am kind. I am loved by God. I am an adventurer. . . As I list number three, I also casually mention that one day I’d love to jump out of an airplane. Before I can move on to number four, conversation erupts.
Jump out of a plane? Why? Suzie, that’s crazy!
Our study takes a quick detour, but it soon feels like a God-turn.
One by one, the women talk about their fears. Taking a jump out of an airplane is scary, but so is taking a healthy risk in a new relationship, stepping into leadership, seeing themselves in a new light, and so much more. Events and people from the past have convinced many of these brave and beautiful women they are limited in what they can do.
In Luke 9, the disciples are asked to take a leap of faith too. Jesus is teaching a massive crowd. They are in an isolated area and there is little food.
“Send them away,” the disciples say.
“But Jesus said, “‘You feed them.’” Luke 9:13 (NLT)
In the natural, there isn’t enough food, so this doesn’t make sense.
In the natural, they are accustomed to Jesus taking charge, so this seems strange.
In the natural, they are faced with a crowd of 5,000 men, accompanied by women and children, bringing the total to possibly, approximately 20,000+.
“You feed them” feels like an impossible request.
It’s asking them to move from the natural to the supernatural.
However, Jesus isn’t asking them to do it in their own power. Instead, He’s showing them what He can do with the little they have to offer, if only they’ll say yes.
I ask the women around my table what it might look like if they took a leap of faith, as Jesus leads. One says she’d reopen her heart to loving others, even though people had hurt her in the past. Another, who is afraid of flying, says she’d say yes to the call to go overseas on a mission trip. “I’d get on an airplane because my God would be with me.” As each shared a leap of faith they would take, I wanted to dance in joy. Something significant was taking place.
Fear was acknowledged, but so was faith.
Is God asking you to take a leap of faith in any part of your life? Is He asking you to shed the limitations that the past or another person has put on you? Is He asking you to see yourself the way He does?
This is His vote of confidence in you.
It’s a call to move from walking in the natural to trust Him with the supernatural. It’s an invitation to learn things about yourself that He has known all along. It won’t be easy, but it will be an adventure, as a miracle of trust unfolds in your heart.
Let’s Pray
Father, thank You that You see beyond my fears, beyond my broken places, to the real me underneath. The strong woman of faith. The trusting child of God. Today I trust that I can do all things through You, and with Your help, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Write down five things that describe you as a woman of faith, separate from your past or the negative words of others. Take those words and hold them up in prayer. Thank God for what He can do with each of these.
More from the Girlfriends
In Suzie’s book, Spirit-Led Heart, she shares that you are not alone as you heal, dream, and step into your everyday life. There is faith without borders, not limited by your past or anything else.
Read the first chapter of The Spirit-Led Heart here.
© 2022 by Suzanne Eller. All rights reserved.
Originally published Monday, 16 May 2022.
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