“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7……………..
“Stop holding back,” the Spirit of God spoke to my heart one day. I knew immediately what He was referring to.
The Lord had given me a gift, a calling, directions, was opening doors for me to walk through, and was leading me forward each day by His Holy Spirit. BUT I was holding back because I was doing something that runs contrary to God’s Word and how Christ’s followers are called to live.
I was LOOKING with MY EYES and FEELING with MY FEELINGS and determining that I had to HOLD BACK, that I couldn’t go forward, because clearly I didn’t have – and convinced myself I wouldn’t have – what I needed to press on. I wasn’t doing what God called me to do according to God’s Spirit and His provision. I was caught up in my flesh and putting my trust in myself and the world around me. I wasn’t believing God would provide day by day, moment by moment, everything I needed to love and obey Him in what He had called me to do. I wasn’t conducting myself by faith in Christ. I was going by sight, by what I saw, but what I felt, by what I assumed, by what I feared, by circumstances, etc.
“What’s the name of your ministry?” my beloved long-time pastor who is now with the Lord once asked me.
“Walk by Faith Ministry,” I said.
“Then you might try doing it,” he retorted, partly jokingly, but altogether serious. I got the point.
I had been HOLDING BACK on something I was certain the Lord wanted me to do because I wasn’t walking, or living, by faith. I needed to repent and put my trust back in God and proceed forward, NO LONGER HOLDING BACK, but trusting God to lead me, to guide me, to direct me, and to provide for me everything I needed to fulfill what He had given me to do.
Are you HOLDING BACK, friend? Has God called you to do something you are refusing to do, or only doing half-halfheartedly, not wholeheartedly, because your trust is in yourself, and in the world around you, instead of in Him? Please do what the Spirit of God led me to do. Repent and place your trust in God, and follow His Spirit as He leads you forward not for your own sake, but for His sake and His glory!