“It’s hard to give up something without the guarantee of something better.”
I was walking with my Bible study friends when one of them shared a line from a sermon she had heard. I thought it was so good that I had to ask her to repeat it so I could write it down.
Earlier this year, I decided to close my chapter in Baltimore and move to NYC without a job lined up or any certainty about what would come next. Certainly, there was no guarantee that the next chapter would be better. It was a bungee jump of faith and, frankly, the decision that required more courage than any other I have ever made.
Now, you might wonder: if it was a bungee jump of faith, what exactly was I trusting in?
I trust in this promise, as written in Romans 10:11:
Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.
I am taking this promise at face value. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I trust that I serve a mighty God who will direct my steps.
And believing in this promise doesn’t mean I expect the next chapter to be better by the world’s standards. From a worldly perspective, “better” might mean greater prosperity, more favor, and so on. I’m not saying God won’t bless me in those ways. I’ve seen time and again how He delights in blessing His children. However, that’s not what I’m holding on to.
Honestly, I’m not concerned about being put to shame in this world, because I trust that I will not ultimately experience shame when the day of the Lord comes. To me, this promise is about trusting that whatever comes next, whether easy or difficult, will be used by God to conform me more and more to the image of Christ. I trust that, by faith, I am walking in what He has called me to do.
At the end of the day, I want to please God, not men. I’m okay with enduring shame from people, but I don’t want to stand ashamed before God when He returns.