Søren
Kierkegaard
coined the expression leap
of faith as a metaphor meaning “to believe in something with no
evidence for it” or “to attempt an endeavor that has little chance of success.”
Soren argued that truth cannot be found by observation alone, but must be
understood in the mind and heart apart from practical evidence. Hebrews
11:1(VOICE)
puts it like
this: “Faith is the assurance of things you have
hoped for. The absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen.”
Since
we cannot observe God with our eyes, we must have faith that He is there. We
jump from material concepts to the immaterial with a leap of faith.
In Hebrews chapter 11, we find an impressive list of men and women in the Bible who took a leap of faith. These are just a few of the people mentioned who took God at His Word and trusted Him to do what He had promised:
By faith, Noah obeyed God and built an ark to save his family from the flood (Genesis 6:9 – 7:24). By faith, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, believing God would provide a lamb (Genesis 22:1–19).
In Hebrews chapter 11, we find an impressive list of men and women in the Bible who took a leap of faith. These are just a few of the people mentioned who took God at His Word and trusted Him to do what He had promised:
By faith, Noah obeyed God and built an ark to save his family from the flood (Genesis 6:9 – 7:24). By faith, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, believing God would provide a lamb (Genesis 22:1–19).
By faith, Moses chose to side with the
Hebrews rather than stay in the Egyptian palace (Exodus
2 – 4).
By faith, Rahab risked her life and sheltered enemy spies in her home (Joshua
2:1–24).
By faith, David confronted a giant with only a sling and a stone (1
Samuel 17).
By faith, Peter stepped out of the boat when Jesus invited him to come (Matthew
14:22–33).
Each of the above stories helps us to
understand the biblical meaning of a leap
of faith. Stepping out in faith requires trusting God to do what He
has already promised even though we may not see the fulfillment of His promise
yet. When we demonstrate authentic trust in God, we know that our leap of faith
is actually a leap into His all-powerful and loving arms. How do you know when the timing is right for a leap of
faith?
You are willing to accept
the worst case scenario-When you really think about it, what’s the absolute worst
that can happen? You quit your job that you have 15+ years experience in
(hopefully before you take the leap you have saved at least 3 months of your
expenses) your venture doesn’t work out as planned – go find a new job. You
move to the city/state you have always wanted to move to but you don’t like it –
so move back. We build up situations in our mind that are much worse than the
actuality. We live in an (unhealthy) state of fear that paralyzes us from doing
anything at all. We are scared everything won’t go exactly as you have planned.
You have experienced an imperfect life.
Life has its
ups and downs. If you never experienced downs, then how can you learn and grow?
How can you feel like you have accomplished anything of value if everything was
easy and ‘as planned? Be willing to take a risk, to fall and see how you save
yourself. See how you are the person you never knew you thought or could be. I
can guarantee it will be one of the best experiences of your life (if you have
the right attitude). Take a leap
of faith.
You can’t get it out of
your mind- Every minute of the day the dreamer wonders this: “Why
am I not _________ (Insert what you want to do here) yet. If they can do it,
why can’t I?”If this sounds familiar to you then
chances are you are feeling like it’s time for a leap of faith. Is it the last
thought on your mind as you go to sleep at night (or the first thought as
you rise in the morning)?
This is no
coincidence. This is God telling you that now is the time. It’s up to you to
take action, and that is the place where most people will stop and blur
their minds with every “what if” scenario they can think of. This is what
will set you apart. If you’re looking for a sign, this is it. Take a leap of faith.
You know that you would
rather have failed and tried, than not tried at all- You have thought about it. In fact it’s all you can think
about. You wrote out the pros and cons. You accepted what the worst case
scenario would be. Your mind is strong in faith so now what? Have you ever
thought that what you are doing right now (living in fear, blaming others, not
taking the leap of faith) is the worst case?
What you’re
doing right now is actually the failure that you are so scared of. You wouldn’t
have something in your heart if you weren’t 100% capable of achieving it. If
you do fail, you will have learned something new about yourself. Tomorrow isn’t
promised to any of us; live for today. Trust that feeling deep down inside your
gut, and spread your wings to fly. Take
a leap of faith.
You realize
that it’s no one’s fault but your own- For most people,
this is a hard thing to admit. Understanding that your current situation is
because of all the actions you have taken in your life up to this point. Yes
all the good in your life is thanks to you, but all the not-so-good is too. It’s
easier to blame others, blame situations, blame how you grew up, but all of
that is in the past – and you don’t live there anymore. It’s only when you take responsibility for
your life that you will have control over it. Take a leap of faith.
Your faith is stronger
than your fear- As children we had no fear. You would try everything at
least once without hesitation. Fear is something you have learned as you have
grown older. It can paralyze you, and make you feel stuck like there is no
way out. It can cause you to live in a rut. Why would you choose to live that
way? Well the truth is most people do whether they mean to, or not.
You were given
a gift. It’s up to you to find out what your gift is. No one is going to come
and save you. You have to save yourself. It requires more work on your end. Chances
are if you are considering taking a leap of faith then you already know or at
least have an idea what that gift is
right now at this very moment. Don’t ‘wait until tomorrow and be miserable
doing something that doesn’t light the fire deep down in your soul any longer.
Trust yourself. Feed your faith and starve your fear. Take a leap of faith.
“There are many talented
people who haven't fulfilled their dreams because they over thought it, or they
were too cautious, and were unwilling to make the leap of faith.” (James
Cameron)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5 ways
to know when you should take a Leap of Faith” by
Claire
Anderson
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