Faith Steps

The following post is written by an East-West missionary to South Asia.

A few nights ago, I watched the hilarious movie What About Bob? with Bill Murray from the early 90s. In case you haven’t seen it, the movie is about a man who is mentally unstable, extremely needy, and filled with all sorts of phobias.

During the movie, Bill Murray’s character—Bob—is referred to a psychiatrist who recently published a book called Baby Steps. The book encourages the readers to take each task one step at a time.

Bob would typically freeze, becoming unable to complete a task or enter a situation because of anxiety, worry, or fear. He took the book and realized how simple life is for him when he walks through it in baby steps.

Baby steps to the door. Baby steps to the elevator. Baby steps outside.

I think a lot of Christians in our culture are like Bob. We might know God’s will for our life and be crippled with fear. We might have dreams or visions we want to fulfill, goals or desires we hope to attain for the Kingdom of God, but quickly become frozen in anxiety or worry.

Self-doubt usually enters in, and all you want to know is the end result, if it doesn’t hurt too much, if it actually works out.

I would cause to challenge Christians to remember that their belief and walk in Jesus is based on faith. 

“Now faith is the assurance of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality.” -Hebrews 11:1

Faith is perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.

If we knew how things would turn out, we wouldn’t live a life of faith. At the same time, if we stay stuck in fear or anxiety without moving forward, we still don’t live a life of faith. God calls us to live by faith, not by sight. That means taking things one step at a time, without knowing the following steps He might ask us to take or the end result.

God usually doesn’t reveal the next step until we have the faith to take the first. Like Bob’s baby steps, but God’s faith steps.

What is God asking you to do that requires you to take a faith step? What is keeping you from taking that step?