Words of Faith: M. Simone's story about following God's lead

How to Follow God When You Don’t Know Where He’s Leading
A Words of Faith story by M. Simone Boyd

“Faith is following God when you don’t know where He’s leading.” That’s what my pastor said a few weeks ago in church. And I needed this reminder because I was growing weary of this writing journey.

You see, I took a big leap of faith in the fall of 2014. I left my good government job to write full time. But things haven’t been shaking out quite as I had planned.

By now, I thought I’d be a New York Times best-selling author.

By now, I thought I’d be sitting on Oprah’s couch telling her all about my plans to help heal families.

By now, I thought I’d be making at least a few thousand dollars a month as a writer.

But none of that has happened.

And I think it’s because God is more interested in the journey than the destination. Take the children of Israel, for example. Once they left Egypt it took 40 years to get the Promised Land. 40 years?!

But even when they were wandering in the wilderness, God was proving His faithfulness to them over and over again. Here are three lessons I’m learning as I try to follow God—even when I don’t know where He is leading:

Lesson #1: Look for God’s Protection

You probably know the story of the Exodus. Pharaoh didn’t let the Israelites exit without a fight, and even after they did leave, Pharaoh followed. But God used Pharaoh’s hard heart to demonstrate His protection. Listen to what Moses says as the Egyptian army approached:

“The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14 (NKJV)

Over the past year and a half, I have seen God’s protection time and again. Such as:

· He protected me and my husband from buying a house with termites.

· He’s protected me from job offers that would have taken me away from my mission.

· And He’s fought for me even when I didn’t know that He was doing so. 

Lesson #2: Look for God’s Provision 

God had to teach the Israelites how to rely on Him.

Prior to the Exodus, the Israelites relied on the Egyptians for food and shelter. That’s how Joseph’s brothers wound up in Egypt in the first place, they were starving and Egypt had food. And for 430 years, Egypt provided.

God had to re-teach them the lessons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—He was their sole provider. Provision came via manna in the morning and quail at night.

Personally, I’m struggling with this lesson.

I went from making six-figures a year to making just enough money to put gas in my tank. But the Lord is showing me, just how much trust I had in that job. He’s teaching me to:

· trust in Him

· walk by faith

· and to continue working…even when I don’t see the results.

It’s been a humbling experience. But not once have I been hungry. And every single month, I’ve made money as a professional writer—even if it was only pocket change.

Lesson #3: Look for God’s Guidance

From the moment the Israelites exited Egypt, God was their guide. He showed up as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. They were never alone.

Neither are you and I.

Looking for His guidance is one of the places I’ve grown. Time and again, He’s closed one door and opened another. Just recently, my novel got rejected by a fancy New York publisher. So decided to go the self-publishing route. A few days later, a local printer wrote me and said they’d print 5,000 copies. For free.

Only God could do that. And I’m following Him, no matter where He leads me.

Reflection question: What lessons is God teaching you as you follow Him in faith? 

~*~

Author bio:

M. Simone Boyd quit her job as an energy analyst to research and write about what makes relationships thrive or die. 

She interviewed 10 Christian, Black men to get their thoughts on relationships and wrote a free guide based on their advice. Simone is the oldest of eight kids and married to her husband, Morris–an only child. 

Say "howdy" to her at: 
My Family Fantastic (blog)
Twitter: @msimoneboyd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myfamilyfantastic/

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