Faith: Obeying and Then Re-Obeying

This past weekend, I had a blast with my boys! My friend Mike Rasmussen leads a ministry called Mission:Uprising. He provides an environment for fathers to take their son away for the weekend. We went to Springhill Camp in Seymore, Indiana. It was a weekend of memories, laughs and fun!

One of the many things that God taught me this weekend is that taking steps of faith is a process of obeying and re-obeying. Just when you think you have it down, the challenge gets bigger, and the step of faith is steeper. My oldest son Micah was terrified of the zip line last year. I practically had to push him off the platform in tears last year. He didn’t want to go…he did only because I forced him.  Once he did it…he loved it.

My son Elijah conquered the Zip line last year and moved onto greater things this year…the Solo Challenge. He boldly climbed to the top of a telephone pole, counted to three, and with his knees shaking, jumped into mid-air after a suspended trapeze. He continues to take steps of faith that amaze me.

My youngest son Isaiah had never seen a zip line. He had only heard about how high it was, how fun it was, how courageous his brothers had been. We got all of our gear on and Isaiah said his stomach hurt…he had never been so nervous that it cause his stomach to hurt. (Mine did too). We got to the top and he simply said “I have to do this now, don’t I?” I said yes, and that was good enough for him, he pushed himself off the ledge and went zipping through the air.

What I felt God teaching me (again) is that faith often is obeying and re-obeying. Just when we take a step of faith, and feel like we have conquered our fears, he calls us to new heights, greater challenges and more dangerous adventures. Micah got a chance to lead in an area he was terrified last year. Elijah got a chance to realize what it would be like to move onto a greater challenge than the zip line and do something none of the rest of us were willing to do. Isaiah simply trusted that we knew he would love something that seemed so scary if he would just jump off the ledge.

It is funny how God reminded me of this through my boys this weekend. In our family right now,  I am praying that I am modeling this for them as we pursue God’s destiny for our life. God is calling Trisha and I to a place of uncertainty and a new level of trust. We have obeyed before and seen Him prove Himself faithful. But the stakes seem higher now, more is on the line, and the question is asked again “Do you trust me?” We are learning to re-obey…to jump with wild abandon, knowing that the thrill of the adventure is far better than giving into fear and staying on the ground.

Is there an area of your life that you are being asked to re-obey in your faith and your trust of God?

Below are some of my favorite pictures from our weekend.