Step Out

Acts 8:26-30 (NIV) “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.”

The Lord gives his people instructions not just from the Bible but for the day. How can it be otherwise? How is it possible to have a relationship with someone when there is no communication? He speaks, and we respond. He searches us out, and we turn toward him. He calls, and we answer. Here is Philip, disciple of Jesus, responding to two different ways God speaks on the same day. God directed, and Philip responded. This is the way we need to be also. It says, “The Spirit told Philip.” How did Philip know that the Spirit was talking? Although we don’t have details, we can take a guess and say that he learned the language of the Spirit. Philip, through his interaction and relationship with the Lord, learned to tell when the Spirit was speaking to him.

If the Spirit of God lives in us, and the Bible is clear that the Spirit lives in all who belong to Christ, then we can understand and grow in our understanding of God speaking to us. However, we must take the next step and that is to do what God tells us! That takes faith, and faith is risky. What if Philip didn’t hear the Spirit exactly right? What if he made a mistake? That’s a risk we all must be willing to take. Think about what would have happened if Philip wasn’t willing to step out in faith! God provided a ready-made opportunity, yet Philip needed to act like a Christ-follower in order to be involved in what God was doing. He needed to step out in faith. This is what we need to do as well. We might not have the best clarity on what the Spirit is saying to us, but we must learn to respond with what we have been given. Philip didn’t know what was going on until he stepped up to the chariot. Likewise, we often don’t have a clue what the Lord is up to until we step out.

Today if you hear his voice, step out. Take a risk for the kingdom. Learn to not have everything under control before you begin to follow. Stop being in charge and let the Lord direct your steps. The results will be God doing his thing, and I for one want to see God doing his thing as much as possible.