For Those Walking by Faith
Trending—All Things New
Did you happen to catch the Google video from December that captured the top search trends of 2022? Apparently, a lot of people entered searches related to pursing change, doing new things, embarking on new ventures, and crafting new lives. It was eye-opening and you should definitely watch it—after reading this post of course!
The video stood out to me because it means that many people embraced doing something altogether new in 2022. This also means that, as they enter 2023, they are probably on the cusp of moving into that new thing, or they are smack dab in the middle of the unchartered path they said yes to last year. I fall into the latter category. How about you?
It’s exciting when everything is new. It’s also scary for that exact same reason. New means walking into the unfamiliar and the unknown, and it often forces a person to re-evaluate where they find their sense of security, worth, place, and identity because new brings the sort of changes that expose our beliefs around these core areas of our lives. In the process though, new can help us re-center ourselves in our eternal reality, pointing us to find our sense of security, worth, place, and truest selves in God. So much good internal work happens when people embrace new.
Encouragement As You Go
Embracing new also means having external conversations with friends, significant others, family members, bosses, and spouses, where you try your best to explain what’s next…while not knowing exactly how things will unfold. You hope folks get it and are (genuinely) excited for you, but sometimes they don’t quite understand and you have to press forward anyways.
At the end of the day, embracing a new path is a lot like jumping into a game that you’re figuring out as you go! This is what makes ‘new’ wonderful and fun, yet hard too. This is also why it’s vital to have encouragers along the way!
For all of you walking in new things with, from, or for Christ (and I suspect that may be many of you!), I want to encourage you because I get the adventure and roller-coaster feelings that such living brings. You are doing what the Bible calls, “Walking by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Or to say it another way, moving forward despite not having all the answers. It is brave and it stirs God’s heart because it shows him, rather than only tells him, that you actually believe him.
So, here’s what helps me and what I say to encourage myself as I walk my new paths:
God has already gone ahead of me. Even though I don’t have all the answers, he FULLY KNOWS. He’s already in my future and he absolutely knows how to work out all the details. More importantly, he does. He is in control, he is with me, he is faithful. In fact, GREAT is his faithfulness. He watches over my way on this new road and he will grant me the grace I need for it. Because he is overseeing all the details, I eagerly expect and plan for joy and keep walking with him as I walk in my new.
Friends, we have a good God who is in the weeds. This means you can be certain that you will see things unfold because he is rolling everything out from his place in your future. And, with each step you take, you will see it unfold in your present too.
I know it takes trust to believe this, but trust is really all you’ve got when walking on a new path. If trust could be a one-and-done thing, that would make everything easier, but the reality is that it is a step by step, daily decision.
Here’s the beautiful thing: you can always ask the Holy Spirit to increase your trust and faith in God whenever you are in low supply. Faith is something that comes from God, so no need to white knuckle it or try to dredge it up from within yourself.
Faith also comes from others who cheer you on along the way…so if you need words to pray right now because you’re in the middle of new and it feels hard, borrow and declare the words above. After that…keep moving forward because, hats off to you, you’re walking by faith! And that is a huge deal! 🎉🎉
Kemi