By Esih Efuru
I came to Charlotte, N.C. from my hometown of New Jersey with my 1 year-old daughter, my stereo and a small collection of books and shoes. God revealed to me that it was time to move on, and leaving everything I knew was the way he needed me to start. The only thing I knew for sure was that God would take care of me. I didn’t know how it would look, but had the ridiculous nerve to trust that instinct.
June 29th marked the 10th anniversary of my leap of faith. It was the most impactful step I’d made then, and God delivered the goods to me over time. I found love, peace and soul through the stretching exercises that life sent my way. God peeled off layers of doubt, low self-esteem and depression and gave me my sunshine back. I accrued a vault of wisdom through the lessons of my trials and tribulations. My daughter blossomed into a ballerina-scholar and continues to inspire me with the joy that illuminates her spirit through hearty laughs, witty impartations and the occasional pirouettes around our home.
Faith has a way of taking you to a part of love and life that you’ve always dreamed of but never thought possible. Bliss doesn’t seem attainable because our journeys sometimes trick us into believing that the clouds are permanent and that sunshine doesn’t last always. Faith is our truth serum, our turpentine, the substance of our hopes and dreams that wipes out fear and proves that God is exactly who he says he is: able. There will never be enough human logic to fully comprehend God’s mastery. We just have to float along and enjoy the ride.
The key to the life that you want and the things you need is a matter of faith. The more intense your faith is, the clearer God’s presence and voice is to you, and the more you will begin to see and experience. Every wish and desire is already in motion; your faith is what God needs to place them in your hands. Every moment of life is a teachable one, with God coaching and coaxing you toward your blessings. Your most painful and lonely moments are the greatest chances for building faith, for it is in those dark places where the most brilliant light is crafted.
Ephesians 3:20 states “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” which means we have a responsibility to meet God with our faith, where trust becomes our habit and favor becomes his pleasure. The amount of faith is not as important as the step toward faith itself. Our lives are evidence of God’s favor-filled footprints.
My brother Randall recently moved down south and is very sensitive to the voice of God. He arrived with a car full of clothes and electronics. After only being here for a month and a half, favor has met his faith. When God said to “go shopping for your new house”, he took a faith step. The next day, he received the very things he was set to shop for, and is now set to move into his house in a week. His obedience in faith led him directly to the blessings he trusted God for.
Making things possible for us is never about whether God will do it. It is always about when we will realize that it’s already done. The rest of the joy ride is about giving praise for the outcome. Faith is the wheel that turns our lives from a shelf of “maybe’s” to a storehouse of expectancy.
Esih Efuru, a 45-year-old writer, artist and minister, is raising a daughter in Charlotte, NC. Email her esihefuru@gmail.com
More article by Esih Efuru
Remembering Maya: A Caged Bird Sings
Dream Big And Watch It Take Shape
A Matter Of Faith was originally published on praisecharlotte.com
