accomplished through me always amazes people, as an author of 70 books,
conference speaker, and mom of ten kids, they want to know how I do it all.
Truthfully, I don’t do it all. There is a lot I say no to. But I’ve ended up
where I am due to one determination. I’ve just committed to reading God’s Word
and walking it out.
need to fulfill His call.
Twenty-eight years ago, I was a 17-year-old
teen mom who committed her life to Jesus and dared to believe God could make
something out of her life. Seeing the destructive path I was on, I dared to read
God’s Word and do what it says. I talk about my journey in my newly released
book Walk It Out: The Radical Result of Living God’s Word One Step At A Time,
and here are a few things I’ve learned in the process:
1. God’s mandates are given for a reason.
Whether you
realize it or not, God intended for us to do what the Bible says: take the
gospel into all the world, care for the vulnerable, help the needy, tend to our
most important relationships. These are guideposts that point us down the path
of true living and eternal life.
For many years I assumed God’s will for
my life was all about me. But as I actually did what the Bible said, I
discovered there was a large world out there who needed Jesus, and God had a
part for me to play. Yes, I found true living and eternal life for myself, but
as I follow God’s mandates I was able to share God’s Good News with others who
found true living and eternal life, too.
2. Knowing the Father’s Heart helps us model it for our
kids.
As we choose to walk out God’s desires for this world, we model
for our children a better way to live. When we prayed and ask God what matters
to Him, He will open our eyes to those around us who needed help and hope. And
as we extend love to others, God’s love flows through us. When we allow
Scripture’s mandates to direct our lives, we’ll discover a God-designed mission
that will excited and delight us. Isn’t this the type of life we want to model
for our kids?
As a young mom I was asked to help start a crisis pregnancy
center. I didn’t think I had time, but God reminded me of those who reached out
to me when I was a teen mom, giving me hope. I started a weekly support group in
2000, and I’m still leading one today. I find great joy telling young women that
they matter to God, and that their children matter. Watching my passionate
service, each of my adult children have discovered their own passions in varied
and unique ministries. They reach out to others as they were shown.
3. Walking out God’s Word takes action.
It’s important to
know God’s Word, but the time comes when God’s Spirit whispers, “Are you done
learning about Me, and are you ready to connect with Me?” After we fill our
minds with head knowledge, God wants us to place our feet on the ground and act.
He wanted me to have a living faith that was undeniable to me and to all those
He brought into my life. But the walking part is important. As James 1:22 says,
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you
are only fooling yourselves,” (NLT).
4. To walk out God’s Word we need to depend on Him.
“I used
to ask God to help me,” said Hudson Taylor, humble missionary and founder of the
China Inland Mission. “Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking
Him to do His work through me.”
These words resonate with me, because God
took me on the same journey from independence to dependence. I’ve never needed
God so greatly as I do when I walk out His mandates. I’ve cried to Him in
desperation; I’ve turned to Him in prayer more than ever. And that’s exactly
where He wants me — wants each of us — to be.
5. We must focus on the one thing God asks us to do.
We want
to walk out God’s directive to share with those in need, but we often don’t know
what that looks like. Seeing all the needs can be overwhelming. That’s why it’s
important to ask, “God what is the one thing You need me to do today?” Then, do
that, knowing God will tell the next step as needed.
6. Our calling is to become more like Jesus.
What is God
calling us to do? How is He asking us to help and love the poor or to care for
lost sinners? We can see how God wants us to act by seeing how Jesus loved and
cared for people. Our calling isn’t to a specific job or ministry. Our calling
is to walk as Jesus did.
7. Know your steps of faith define your future.
Dare I say
it? Sometimes we step out of God’s will for us today because we’re trying to
figure out what He has planned for us tomorrow — for our future. But when we
walk out God’s directives and take steps of self-sacrifice, love, service, and
compassion, we will discover God’s purpose for our future, and our family’s
future, because our faithful steps will lead us to it.
“Who we choose to
become and how we choose to live everyday creates a trajectory for everything
else,” said author Jerry Sittser. “Perhaps that is why the Bible says so little
about God’s will for tomorrow and so much about what we should do to fulfill his
will today.”
For years I tried to figure out God’s will for my life, but
as I followed God’s Word — one step after another — I found myself in the
center of God’s will. All I’ve accomplished has resulted from faithful steps
of doing what the Bible says. Of course the greatest success isn’t what I’ve
done, but who’ve I’ve become on this journey with God. And who my children have
become as they’ve followed me.
[written by Tricia Goyer]
