One of my favorite series of movies is Indiana Jones. I think I speak for most people when I say that it’s a great combination of action, humor, and mystery. In The Last Crusade, Dr. Jones is confronted with a situation where he must take a “leap of faith.” In honor of this Leap Day, I want to ask you: When was the last time you took a leap of faith?
The Bible is full of people who had to take huge steps in full faith — Abraham, David, Esther, Daniel, Elijah, Mary, Paul, John… Many were resistant at first. One of the most hesitant was Moses, but God ended up doing amazing things through this man’s life. Others were quick to follow — like Peter, who jumped right out of the boat to walk to Jesus. Still, others fell in the middle, but they all have something in common. They all did great things for God once they took the leap!
I’ve had a few opportunities to take a leap. One involved stepping away from my longtime plan to be a computer scientist, but instead follow God into youth ministry. I was confronted a few years later with a similar fork in the road when I was being pursued by some semi-pro soccer teams. At some level, my marriage proposal was a leap of faith. But the biggest in recent memory had to be when I said yes to moving from Illinois to New Hampshire to follow God, once again, in youth ministry.
Sure, the road has been tough at times, but when I look back over the past eight and a half years, I’m certain this is exactly where God wants me to be right now. I’ve been able to help a student ministry grow from the ground up. I’ve seen students get excited about their faith. I’ve seen families transformed by the love of God. I’ve seen people run to serve others because they understand that is what life is really all about. I’ve seen students stick with their faith after they graduate, because they got it when they were a teenager and they have a church surrounding them that has encouraged them in their faith. I’ve seen God raise up an amazing team of youth workers from singles, young married, parents, and older teens.
If I had never taken the leap of faith to follow God, I don’t know where I would be, but I can say with certainty that it would not be as exciting or fulfilling as it is right now!
There will be other opportunities down the road for me and my wife. We’re in the middle of a couple right now. For example, many of you know we are working on our first book together. That’s a leap of faith — putting what we think is wisdom out there for the world to read and potentially critique is a huge leap of faith. Another step is getting involved in the local youth/school soccer programs. It might be tough as well, but if it’s what God is calling us to do, we are ready to do it!
So, what’s your leap of faith? Where is God asking you to step out in trust? Maybe it’s a career, family, or personal decision. Or maybe your leap of faith is stepping out of your comfort zone and sharing Jesus with someone. If you don’t yet know, maybe God is calling you to get closer to Him, so He can make it known for you. It might be right in front of you, but you might be too busy or distracted to see it.
Obviously, I don’t know what your next leap involves, but I know one thing both from personal experience and from what I see in the Bible. It’s always worth it! You will grow, and there’s a really good chance you might help someone else grow too!
Steve Cullum 