One step at a time
By Charles Christian
Martin Luther King Jr. once wrote, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
This sentiment is echoed throughout the Bible. Often God is recorded as calling people to take small steps that eventually lead to bigger things. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham and his wife Sarah are told to pack up their belongings, leave their home and go to a land that they will be shown later (Genesis 12:1-3).
While there is a general promise of God’s protection and provision, there are few specifics. Abraham and Sarah, both of whom are advanced in age, are called by God to start over, occupy a new land and be pioneers of their people by following one step at a time.
Other well-known Bible characters in both the Old and New Testaments are given similar callings. The disciples of Jesus, for example, after the resurrection event recorded in the Gospels, are told simply to “go to Jerusalem and wait” (see Acts 1:4).
These events have at least two important things in common. First, they are calls to follow God one step at a time, without seeing (in the words of MLK) the “whole staircase.” This requires faith: a strong dependence upon God’s trustworthiness and God’s track record of faithfulness in the past.
Second, these “one step at a time” events throughout the Bible require consistent attentiveness to God and a reliance upon His faithfulness.
God does not only show us part of the picture to tease us or to set us up for a divine practical joke. Instead, He loves us and knows us well enough to avoid overwhelming us. Furthermore, it seems that God desires for us to know him better and better as we move forward. We are called to obey by faith and then to stay tuned to where God will lead us from there — one step at a time.
