Pastor Lindell Ballenger

FOCUS ON YOUR FUTURE – TAKE THE LEAP OF FAITH

When most people are called into full-time ministry, they want to hear a powerful prophetic word to kick their ministry off with a supernatural bang! They fantasize of receiving a prophecy that goes something like, “Yes, I have called you and anointed you to take My Word to the nations,” says the Lord.

That’s what most ministers would like to hear! Or, “Yes! I have ordained you to preach My Word and to move in the power of My Spirit,” says the Lord, “and I will do wonderful and earth-shaking things through your mighty ministry.” Those are the kinds of prophetic utterances they love to hear when they first get started!

But that is not the kind of prophetic word that kicked off Joshua’s ministry. He received a word all right, but it wasn’t very flowery and it didn’t even sound too prophetic. It was straight to the point, hard to hear, and struck him like a slap in the face. God simply said: “Moses my servant is dead!”

What a way to start your ministry! Yet, that is the way Joshua’s ministry began. In Joshua 1:2, God told him, “Moses my servant is dead: now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and this people, unto the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel.”

When Joshua heard those fateful words, they must have hit him hard. Mourning for Moses would not help or change the situation, for his role had been fulfilled, and it was time for the next phase of God’s plan to be carried out by Joshua. It was time for Joshua to stop looking backward and start looking forward, focusing on the future.

Have you ever come to one of those places in your life when you knew that, as glorious and wonderful as your present experience has been, it is finished? When you finish this phase of your spiritual life, you know it can no longer be extended or repeated. As sweet and precious as that period of your life has been, you know it is now time for you to move on toward the next new assignment God gives you.

You don’t want to stay where you are anyway! If you stay where you are, never breaking into new territory with your life and with your dreams, then you’ll never know what life would have been like living out on the edge! Believe me, when you step out to obey God - whether it is to witness to your neighbor, accept a new position at work, start a new business, go into the ministry, all of it feels like you’re living out on the edge!

Then, after you’ve lived out on the edge for awhile and grown accustomed to the daily adventure of serving Jesus Christ, you’ll wonder how you were ever satisfied before. In retrospect, your old life looks gray, boring, and terribly uneventful compared to your new walk of obedience, power, and daily excitement.

Where is your next great leap of faith? Leaving your current job to accept one with greater responsibilities? Biting the bullet, quitting your job and starting the new business you’ve had in your heart for a long time? Recognizing you’ve finally met the woman or man God wants you to marry, and finally saying “yes” to marriage? Or, pushing your fears aside to share Christ with your neighbor or unsaved family members?

We are all at different phases and places in our lives. What is important is that you continue to MOVE FORWARD AND FOCUS ON THE FUTURE. Don’t get bogged down and lose the vision God has given you for your life.

What are you going to do with your life? What is your next step? If you are stuck in a rut, are you going to stay where you are? Or are you going to break out of your stale mode into the adventure that God Almighty has planned for you?

TAKING THE BIG LEAP OF FAITH

If your answer to those questions is, “Yes, I’m willing and ready to move on, and I want to do the will of God with my life,” then you need to pay close attention to the next words God spoke to Joshua.

Moses my servant is dead: now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:2)

Notice God tells Joshua, “Now therefore arise…” This is an extremely important statement, because God uses the word NOW.

You may have heard clearly from the Lord, but you are waiting for the circumstances to be absolutely perfect before you obey. The situation will never be perfect! When God told Joshua to cross the Jordan River, it was at flood stage. Believe me, there was not a more difficult time to begin a ministry than that! They had never learned to swim in the desert.

Many use the excuse that they are waiting on the perfect timing of the Lord. But if God has spoken to you and said NOW, that is the perfect timing of the Lord! In fact, if the conditions are perfect, you might need to take a closer look and ask the Holy Spirit for discernment.

Perfect conditions do not mean perfect timing.

There comes a time in your life when you don’t need to pray about your future any more. Joshua didn’t need to stop and say, “Lord, let me pray about this for a few days.” He had been praying about this opportunity for many years! His whole life had been spent training for this very moment. Now, when the moment came, only the action of obedience was required of him. That’s why God said NOW.

Many times people over-spiritualize things, saying, “Let me pray about this, or pray about that,” and while they are praying, they miss the golden opportunity God set in front of them. They lost that opportunity because it was the opportunity of the moment. It was a NOW opportunity

There is a time to pray, and there is a time to act. Most believers confuse the two and end up praying a lot, but not doing much with their lives. How can you know when it is time to pray and when it is time to act?

There are two kinds of hesitation. A hesitation in your spirit is the Holy Spirit telling you to slow down, but your own natural hesitation is your flesh not wanting to move forward into something new and unfamiliar. Most often, you will find that it is your own natural hesitation which is speaking to you.

It is very important for you to discern which voice you are listening to, yours or the Holy Spirit’s. If it is the Holy Spirit’s, then you will have an unshakable, immoveable warning on the inside that you need to stop and pray. If it’s your own natural hesitation you are hearing, then you need to shove those fears aside and forge ahead to do what God has told you to do.

If the opportunity before you right now is a door you have kicked open yourself, it’s time to stop, pray, and find out where the Holy Spirit wants you to be. You don’t have to manipulate yourself into positions of authority or promote yourself.

Let God promote you! If you promote yourself too soon, you will not be prepared to do the job. Follow where He leads you, and pass every test He brings you to with courage and faithfulness. Remember, He’s the only one who knows what you need to succeed and when you are ready for that great door of opportunity.

If the opportunity before you right now is the one you’ve been praying and waiting for, has supernaturally opened, and everything looks like God is giving you a green light, then go for it! If you are nervous about it, that’s normal! You are about to do something you’ve never done before. Don’t allow that natural edginess to keep you from something wonderful. Those steps of faith only look huge because you have never taken them before.

Once you step out into the realm of faith to accept this new place to which God is calling you, you’ll realize it wasn’t so hard after all. If this is what you’ve been praying for, recognize God is working and stop over-spiritualizing things! Over-spiritualizing can rob you of God’s blessings when they try to come to you.

The important thing is to obey when you know God is calling you to accept a new assignment in life. If the door is opened, why not go ahead and walk through it? Ultimately, someone is going to do what God has called you to do, and it might as well be you!

What opportunity is before you right now? Are your circumstances lining up for you to fulfill the dream that has been in your heart? Does it look like you have a green light to move forward? Then go for it! This may be your NOW opportunity. Don’t let this opportunity pass by you and then leave you wondering what would have happened had you taken the big leap of faith! Take the leap!